


The Right Fit

by genesisgrey



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Knotting, Light Angst, M/M, Possible More Warnings Later, Self-Lubrication
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2019-08-28 13:32:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 66,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16724340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genesisgrey/pseuds/genesisgrey
Summary: Recently spurned in love, Yifan, alpha head of Hong Kong's notorious Wu family, is under pressure to find an omega mate and produce an heir. From the safety of his Omega House, Zitao has had a crush on Yifan Wu for years. But between having a problematic heat cycle and being too tall and too active for a proper omega, he's sure he has no chance. Somehow they'll manage the right fit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an omegaverse fanfic where anyone can get pregnant, but it's most culturally acceptable for an alpha to impregnate an omega.
> 
> Note: This is a companion story to another story I wrote, _Forming a Family,_ but that story does not need to be read to understand _The Right Fit._ However, if you read this and are curious what happened to Luhan, I would recommend reading the other story. ^_^ 
> 
> YifanxZitao. lol! Does anyone ready this pairing anymore? Anyway, I started this story because one of the comments on _Forming a Family_ asked about what happened with Yifan and Zitao, and that got the creative wheels turning. This will probably be the most "traditional" omegaverse fanfic I write.
> 
> This story should be short chapters (between 500 to 1500 word each section) back and forth between Yifan and Zitao's perspectives. I intend to post weekly on the weekend, until I get to the end. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Comments are loved, cuddled, and appreciated. ^^
> 
> Warnings: Allusions to systematic sexual abuse and prostitution, knotting, biting, and some fighting.
> 
> Also posted on Asianfanfics.

Yifan stood staring out the window of his penthouse apartment, looking at Hong Kong's night skyline.

He had a glass of whiskey in one hand, which felt well-deserved after enduring yet another interminable visit from Ying Yu, his aunt and the Wu family matriarch. She had not been on his calendar for the day, and was one of the few people in all China who would dare (and survive) barging in on him at his home. Their familial relationship, and her station as matriarch, meant she was also one of the few people who could pick at him for not doing his _duty_  as head of the family.

Namely his nearly being two years away from thirty and not having a mate or progeny.

She was getting more aggressive about it. Today she accused him of _mooning_  over some _ill-fit omega,_ which almost made him snarl. (So what if he still thought of Luhan? Was an alpha not allowed to have emotions when he was rejected? And ill-fit? _She_ was the one who recommended and approved his short-lived pursuit of Luhan in the first place.)

The whiskey tasted sour as he took a sip, a fault of his mood, not the vintage.

To Ying Yu's point, she had valid concerns. That was why Yifan willingly endured her cornering him with lists of omega prospects. There were rumors of an upcoming challenge from one of the other alpha families in the organization who had doubts about Yifan's virility and ability to continue the Wu line. Rumors had begun to circulate about his having _unnatural_ proclivities. Hushed whispers that he did not prefer the company of omegas at all. It would have been gossip years ago, but then the presumptive heir of the Zhang family rejected his station to run off with a _beta._  (Not only a beta, but a _Korean beta._ ) Meaning a lot of focus was on Yifan that he not do the same (or worse) and maintain _normality._

Triad politics seeped into even the most intimate aspects of life.

In Yifan's case the concern was misplaced for several reasons. He was already the head of the family, firmly shackled into place, not an heir; and his only _unnatural_  proclivity so far as mates was a preference for omegas with spirit. That was what drew him to Luhan. He wanted an omega who wasn't afraid of him or the danger that came with being his mate. He wanted someone who could stand by his side. Not someone who needed to be hidden and sequestered in the Wu household, only to be seen when the children were presented. He didn't want a hole to rut on with no distinguishable personality. That was what his omega-father had been.

Yifan never wanted his mate to have the kind of fear he remembered in his omega-father's eyes.

He shook off the memory as he finished his whiskey and stepped away from the window.

The Zhang family was having some pointless event Saturday, and he was required to attend. He could use it to make a statement. Tomorrow he would go to his family's favored Omega House and find an escort to accompany him. To be seen with a viable omega at his side would give him more time to find a mate who truly suited him, on more than a genetic level.

Or so Yifan hoped.


	2. Chapter 2

Zitao sat on the porch of the dojo, dangling his legs off the side. He kicked at the high grass with his bare feet, letting the top of the blades tickle his soles as he wiggled his toes.

The physical education building, which was the technical designation of the dojo, sat in the back of the Omega House compound. It was not a well maintained area compared to the rest of the buildings. It was rarely mowed or the weeds around the foundation pulled. Zitao found its wild nature pretty, nicer than the perfectly planned flower garden.

The dojo was open all day, but, other than when a class was in session, no one came. And even when there were classes, most omegas only showed up so they could be near the handsome alpha instructors. They liked to be manhandled and thrown on the mats rather than learning how to throw someone themselves. It annoyed Zitao, but he was the last person who could fault another omega for craving an alpha's touch.

It did mean Zitao most often had the run of the dojo when he came to practice his katas or attempt meditation. That was nice. But he would not have been upset if someone wanted to spar with him. He so rarely had an opponent. He wanted a challenge to test himself. The instructors always told him his skills were quite advanced, but he never could tell if they meant the compliment truly or meant it only _for an omega. ___

__Still, Zitao was glad he had martial arts to practice. It let him remember his body could do something other than be in heat._ _

__He sighed._ _

__From the moment his heat started at fourteen, Zitao had been cursed with the sort of wanton omega body that featured in lurid novels and porn he wasn't supposed to know existed. (The proprietors of the house tried to keep their omegas innocent of such things.) His heat came in a cycle of twenty days, which was unusual, but the doctors weren't concerned. (Before he left, Luhan used to rant about how little study was done on discovering why omegas had such variant heat cycles. Luhan had a lot of rants about the lack of study on omega conditions, beyond their self-lubrication and birthing abilities.) The punishing frequency of Zitao's heats wouldn't have been as much of a problem if he could have taken over the counter suppressants most omegas did. But whenever he took the oral or suppositories, he became violently ill, and he honestly didn't know if the heat or sickness left him feeling more miserable. He responded better to prescription shots, but the House accountants deemed them far too expensive to be given every twenty days._ _

__On top of his inability to skip heats, his were severe. He felt like he was on fire and it _hurt_  in ways that defied words. He would cry, plead, sometimes even scream, until he had an alpha on top of him. (Luhan once explained why it helped. It was a combination of alpha pheromones and an enzyme alphas secreted in sweat, but was more potent in the semen. Which was why sex helped, but no condom and a knotting would help a lot more. Zitao only understood an alpha was the only thing that gave him any relief.)_ _

__Zitao ran a hand through his hair as he leaned against a support pillar._ _

__It was perfectly normal for omegas to have an alpha come help with an omega's heats. He was a prime example of someone who _needed_  it. But there were some times he wondered if too many alphas came to help him. His heats were extreme, yes, but did he really need to have more than one alpha? It only took one to relive the intense  pain and make his heat manageable, so it felt like his body was only on fire and not killing him from the inside out. But he never sent away other alphas after the first. How could he? He was in no state to refuse with how heat-addled his mind was, how much his body wanted to have a child put in his belly. By the time his thoughts were clear enough he could convey he didn't want the alpha on top of him or any of the last three pushing him down, it was over. That didn't happen to other omegas._ _

__He lived in a reputable state-sanctioned Omega House, but there were moments he questioned his caseworker's care. The beta hadn't done a good job of finding him a mate. He was almost twenty-four, old for an omega to be unmated. Someone should have wanted him by now. One of the many alphas who used his body should have found him pleasing enough to mate. Right?_ _

__Zitao shook it off, knowing dwelling would only bring him no answers and tears. The afternoon chimes were sounding anyway, and he needed to get back to the main house for the daily mingling event._ _

__The Omega House had a two hour open mingle for alphas, who had credentials, to come and meet omegas in a safe, monitored setting. All omegas not in current courtship negotiations were supposed to attend. Zitao used to like attending. He knew he was handsome and received a lot of attention, but the lack of any actual interest was wearing him down. It hurt not to be wanted, and worse to only be wanted every twenty days._ _

__He made his way back to his room, ignoring the hopeful chatter of other omegas in the hallway. He took a quick shower to wash off his exertion and changed into a simple white button-up shirt and black slacks before going down._ _

__The familiar smell of sandalwood and fresh rain assaulted his nose as he entered. He felt his temperature rise as he looked across the room to see the most perfect alpha in all of China surrounded by hopeful omegas._ _

__Yifan Wu was _everything_ an alpha should be in Zitao's eyes._ _

__He was tall and devastatingly handsome, with sharp, chiseled features, deep brown eyes, and exuded an air of control and dominance. There was a press to his lips that could be a smile, but only if he deigned to grace a person with it. His tailored suits were impeccable and his dyed blond hair was slicked back. Yifan owned a room the moment he entered; even other alphas deferred to him._ _

__Zitao drifted to take a place along the wall, attempting to watch Yifan without staring._ _

__Everything about the sight and smell of alpha perfection made him want to melt, made his body loosen and his hole wet. Yifan had always been nice around the omegas, even the ones he wasn't courting. (Luhan had to be mad to run away to Korea for school rather than be Yifan's mate.) Yifan had even been nice to Zitao in particular on several occasions._ _

__Or maybe it had been Zitao's imagination._ _

__And his imagination could be vivid when it came to Yifan. In addition to his handsomeness and ultra-alpha appeal, Yifan was also current head of the Wu family, a strong, reputable alpha line. That held allure to Zitao. Zitao wanted children. Desperately. (The last several years his mind was filled with a desire to be mounted, to feel a knot locking inside him, feel his belly warming with child.) He wanted children and he wanted a mate who would keep them safe. There was no doubt Yifan's children would be held in high-esteem. As would Yifan's mate, or so Zitao liked to fantasize._ _

__Zitao made a mistake of mentioning this fantasy to another omega in the presence of his beta caseworker once. Specifically how he liked to daydream one day Yifan might catch his scent and sweep him off his feet._ _

__The beta sneered and cruelly pointed out that if Yifan Wu hadn't noticed Zitao's smell yet, he wasn't about to start._ _


	3. Chapter 3

Zitao smelled like the first bloom of the cherry blossoms. Pungent, yet understated, mixed with a salty undertone of healthy exertion.

The scent drew Yifan's attention as he glanced over at where Zitao was keeping to the edge of the room, as he always did. It was a good scent. One that excited Yifan even on the first day he came to the Omega House. That day Luhan had been sitting in the garden with Zitao when Luhan's caseworker escorted Yifan out to meet the omega. Zitao had the more compelling scent by far, but Luhan was the one Ying Yu had sent him to meet, and Yifan had still been listening to Ying Yu. Luhan smelled pleasant, of course, but there simply had always been something _more_  about Zitao's scent.

Yifan continued politely engaging the omegas gathered around him, even as he watched Zitao from the corner of his eye.

It never failed to shock him when he found Zitao still in residence; Zitao should have been mated before he was twenty, like most viable, biddable omegas. And he was a handsome prospect. Black hair and eyes, golden skin, a fit body. When he smiled his appearance was open and sweet of nature. His resting expression, however, was cold, reserved, stern, even a bit cocky and mysterious. Perhaps other alphas foolishly could not appreciate that expression as Yifan did.

Yifan could see Zitao had showered recently, his short hair damp as it fell across his forehead. Neat rows of silver studs shined in his ears, a show of defiant personality, perhaps. The collar of his shirt was open, showing a neck both slender and strong. The kind of neck that could be adorned with jewelry or the mark of Yifan's teeth. (It didn't quite rise to the level of a fetish, but Yifan did find an omega's neck to be the sexiest part of their body.)

Beyond the physical appeal, Zitao had a good personality. Mild and aloof, not simpering and overeager like the omegas surrounding Yifan now, clambering for his attention and attempting to subtly rub their scent on him. There was also how Zitao had been good to Yifan on his visits to the Omega House directly after Luhan's departure. He had been sympathetic when every other omega wanted only to take Luhan's place. (Not that Yifan hadn't detected a certain interest from the ripe scent Zitao produced around him, but Zitao let him mourn a romance that never was. Perhaps it was cathartic. Luhan had been Zitao's friend, and then his friend had suddenly left him. The feelings of omegas were often overlooked, especially in an Omega House where the sole focus was on finding a mate. Much like feelings of a strong alpha were not supposed to exist.)

Ying Yu had dismissed Zitao early in her search or Yifan might have approached him. It seemed their genetic match was not the _most perfect._ (Since his aunt looked into Zitao, it meant Zitao did have good genetics, but it might involve multiple knottings to get him pregnant. That hardly sounded like the worst problem to Yifan. Ying Yu favored Luhan because testing indicated he was incredibly fertile, even for an omega.) She also said Zitao was too _used_  to be a Wu omega. That statement struck Yifan as harsh. It was not Zitao's fault his biology made him go into heat anymore than it was his fault he needed an alpha to sate it.

The point was, if Ying Yu hadn't crossed him off her meticulous little list, Yifan might have pursued Zitao.

Yifan furrowed his brow abruptly, which startled a couple of the omegas hanging off him.

He wasn't here tonight to find a mate; he was here to find an escort. There was no reason to eliminate Zitao from the selection. Yifan excused himself from the close circle of omegas with inferior scents and made his way across the room, no one getting in his way. Zitao's blase expression turned startled and he froze, black eyes going wide as he realized Yifan was approaching him, directly approaching him. Yifan couldn't help a certain alpha delight at the reaction from such delightful prey.

"Good afternoon, Zitao."

Zitao stepped away from the wall, drawing himself to his full height before bowing respectfully. He was considered too tall for an omega, but Yifan liked not having to look down. "Hello, Mr. Wu," he said, black eyes flashing as he noted most the eyes in the room had turned toward them. He didn't blush or demure though, he turned his gaze back to Yifan and inclined his head ever so slightly in silent question. (There was no way he could have known how sexy Yifan found the motion, as if he were offering his neck. Yifan's fingers twitched as he restrained the urge to shove Zitao back and lick the line of that offered neck.)

Yifan gave a pleased smile he'd been told came across as too predatory. Zitao shifted in response, but Yifan didn't get the impression he was intimidated. In fact, from to heady waft of cherry blossoms, it was a good guess he was aroused. Good then. "I've asked you to call me Yifan when we have spoken before."

"You did. But it's been a while since you've come." His eyes brightened with embarrassment at his words. "Come here, I mean." Which was no better.

"It has," Yifan agreed. "I'm surprised to see you still at the House."

Zitao was not a person who faked smiles to cover his hurt. His expression went bland as he glanced away. "I'm not the sort of omega in high demand right now, I guess."

Yifan honestly couldn't imagine why not as he purposely leered at Zitao. He was not attempting subtly in his approach. His choice had been made, all that remained was acceptance from the other party. "Their loss is my gain. Are you free Saturday?"

That brought Zitao's gaze right back to his face, his eyes going wide with surprise. "Y-yes. Why?"

"I'm in need of an escort. There's an event in the evening I'm to attend."

"And you want me to go with you?"

"Is there a reason I shouldn't choose you?" Yifan asked. Zitao's presence this afternoon implied he was not currently being engaged by another alpha.

"No," Zitao said. "I'd be happy to accompany you, if you'd like."

"I'm not an alpha that would have asked otherwise," Yifan said. "Do you want to make the arrangements with your caseworker? Or shall I?"

"I... can," Zitao said as he glanced over to where the caseworkers were loitering, nominally keeping an eye on their charges.

There was something in the way he spoke and the way his eyes narrowed that said he did not relish the idea. "I'll do it," Yifan offered, feeling a sharp desire to lift the burden from Zitao's shoulders. Luhan had always wanted to negotiate his own outings, but typically it was the alpha who made arrangements. "I know all the particulars, anyway."

"Thank you," Zitao said in a sigh.

"I'll pick you up Saturday at seven, then."

\---

Comments welcome!! ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

Zitao looked at himself in the mirror as he fussed at his appearance.

He had gone out as an escort for important alphas who did not travel with their own omegas or were still unattached many times before. But his companion being _Yifan Wu_ was like a dream, and gave him a rare fit of nerves. His caseworker had been oddly irritable about the whole situation, but Zitao was pretty sure he simple hadn't liked Yifan's overly dominant personality when making arrangements. Some betas had issues with alpha superiority.

His fingers fumbled as he worked at the cufflinks. The Omega House at least splurged on black and while formal wear for all of their omegas, and Zitao knew he looked good. It wasn't vain to think so, it was fact.

"You're only a week off from your heat," said a feminine voice behind him. "Are you worried he might set it off early?"

Zitao shook his head as he glanced over his shoulder at his best friend, Jia, lounging on his bed, kicking her stocking clad feet in the air. "Mr. Wu wants an omega with him for appearances tonight," he said as he turned back to checking out his reflection. "He didn't engage me for a fuck."

Not that Zitao would refuse if he wanted one, no matter what House protocol and his caseworker dictated.

Jia laughed as she rolled onto her hip. " _Mr. Wu,_ " she said in wheedling voice, mimicking Zitao. "With how long you've been wet for him, one good whiff might set you off." Zitao saw her waggling her dark eyebrows in the mirror's reflection. "He did arrange to keep you the _whole_  night."

"The event goes on beyond the House's curfew," Zitao said, feeling his skin warm with a shy sort of hope.

"Uh huh," she said, shaking her bright pink hair out over her shoulders as she smiled. "Just know I fully support you offering up your ass if _Mr. Wu_ makes a move." Her expression turned to a sneer as she glanced toward the door. "No matter what that douchebag Wei says."

Zitao's caseworker had been incredibly blunt and vocal (normally he didn't say more than three sentences in a row to Zitao) about not letting Yifan have sex with him, only being an escort. Those were the rules, but so long as the sex was consensual and protection was used, no one ever got in trouble for breaking the rules. It was like Wei didn't want him having sex outside his heat when he might actually enjoy it.

"Should I take out my piercings?" Zitao asked, changing the subject as he pulled at one of his ears. He had three small silver hoops in his left ear and a pair of studs in his right. (One of his few open shows of defiance, like Jia's unnatural pink hair. Omegas were _highly encouraged_ not to make any appearance changes or body modifications, such as piercings and tattoos, until they had an alpha to make those choices for them.)

"Holes will still be there," Jia said with a shrug. "And he asked you out when you had them in, so I don't think he cares."

Jia was in the minority of omegas who felt any alpha who wanted her should know right off what they were getting, and that was not a subservient little flower. (The only difference between her and Luhan outlook was she did want an alpha, simply on her own terms.) Zitao himself was incredibly traditional in his desire for an alpha and for children. But his interests in in hobbies and things _unbecoming an omega,_ namely martial arts and his piercing predilection, put him in the minority. At least Jia was good company.

"Shall I escort you downstairs?" Jia asked, flipping off the bed and offering Zitao her arm. "It's about time."

Zitao gave himself one last look in the mirror. For anyone less than Yifan, he would have thought he looked more than handsome enough; but Yifan deserved perfection and Zitao felt he was a tenth off from that. He linked arms with Jia and they left his room to go down to the main foyer. Other omegas were milling around waiting to be picked up, most not even twenty and going out for the first time. Their caseworkers fretted over them and gave lists of instructions no one would remember. Zitao's caseworker, however, was nowhere in sight, which suited Zitao fine.

It was five minutes to seven when he reached the floor, and the scent of sandalwood and fresh rain hit him as Yifan entered. The alpha was wearing a tuxedo, his hair slicked back, and his stern expression turned to a smile as he saw Zitao. Zitao almost looked over his shoulder to see if Luhan had come back. Such a glorious smile couldn't be for him, could it?

"Good luck," Jia teased as she let go of Zitao's arm and gave him a swat on the behind. "I won't wait up."

Zitao glared over his shoulder before flashing her a smile. Then he turned his attention to the daydream scenario of Yifan being there to pick him up. When he dreamed about this, he usually woke up right when Yifan swept him off his feet and went in for a kiss.

"You look handsome tonight," Yifan said, giving an exaggerated glance and nodding approvingly.

"So do you," Zitao said, feeling stupid he couldn't come up with something better.

"But your collar is a bit askew," Yifan said as he reached out to fix it, long, warm fingers brushing against Zitao's neck.

Zitao lifted his chin to expose his throat and the touch seemed to linger, fingertips sliding over the skin, as their eyes locked. Yifan's gaze was _intense_  and the scent of rain became headier, almost so much as to be intoxicating and definitely dizzying. He clenched his butt cheeks against the sudden sensation of wetness and was glad the length of his jacket covered other signs of arousal.

"There you are," Yifan said, drawing his hand away and turning. "Come on. We don't want to be more late than is fashionable."

Zitao followed him out to the waiting limousine where a uniformed beta opening the door for them. Yifan put a hand on his back, by his shoulder blades and sliding down to the dip above his buttocks, and guided him into the vehicle before climbing in after. It was spacious, if too low for their height. Three other alphas were inside, along with a beta and another omega.

The limo began to move as Yifan settled on the seat next to Zitao, stretching his legs (a very alpha thing to do, taking up all the space) as he made introductions. "Zitao," he said, both for Zitao's attention and as his introduction. He gestured to a pretty female alpha across from them and the tiny omega beside her. "This is my cousin Qian Song and her mate Cao Lu." The alpha nodded and smiled with surprising warmth as her mate's eyes glittered with a sort of curiosity that made Zitao's skin warm.

Yifan next motioned to a pair of male alphas who shared the same face and the beta between them. "My bodyguards Xiaolong, Dalong, and my personal secretary, Show Lo." The bodyguards nodded in that emotionless way bodyguards did when they were working and didn't know what to make of the new presence. The secretary grinned and waggled his fingers.

"A pleasure to meet you," Zitao said, bowing his head politely.

"The pleasure is ours," Qian said, still smiling at him even as her gaze slid to Yifan. "Some more than others, of course."

"Qian," Yifan said in a warning tone, but there was a fondness in his voice.

Cao Lu slipped away from Qian and moved to sit on Zitao's other side. "Do you want to see my manicure," she asked, holding out her hand so he could see the wine colored french tips that matched the color of Qian's dress. "I had them done earlier."

"Very nice," Zitao said. "Sometimes I wish they'd allow me to color mine."

"Any particular color?"

"Plain black."

"That would suit you."

On his other side, Yifan started talking to his secretary about work, drawing Qian's attention. Listening to omegas frivolous talk was not of much interest to alphas, and it wasn't long before even the bodyguards weren't paying them much attention. Cao Lu smiled and Zitao winked at her. This sort of mild deception was how omegas had learned to speak freely when surrounded by alphas, hiding in plain sight.

"You knew Luhan?" Cao Lu asked in a low voice, holding his hand up as if admiring his neatly trimmed nails.

"He was my friend."

Cao Lu made a low humming noise. "You smell better with Yifan than he did," she said after a moment. "And you let him help you into the limo. Luhan never would have allowed it."

Zitao felt brittle inside as he shook his head. He didn't want to hear about how Yifan and Luhan had been. "Mr. Wu," he said. He had not been given permission to call him Yifan in front of others, even if Cao Lu had done it. "He wanted an escort for the evening, nothing more."

"I met Qian when I was trying to steal her purse," Cao Lu said, grinning. "These things can start in the oddest ways."

"Don't get me to hope," Zitao said as he met her eyes.

Cao Lu's hand closed around his and her expression softened at whatever she saw. "I'm not trying to hurt you," she said, lowing her voice even more as she shifted nearer him. "Yifan has not been with an omega in a long while, and I did mean it that your smells mix well. Qian wanted me to ask if you would at least tempt him..."

"Qian should stay out of my personal business."

The deep voice made both Zitao and Cao Lu (and Show Lo) jump as Yifan stopped talking to the secretary and glared at his cousin. Qian gave a smile that was not intimidated. "It's rude to eavesdrop, cousin," she said, leaning back in the seat as she beckoned Cao Lu to return to her side. "I'm always quite impressed by how you divide your attention and can listen to a conversation while having another."

Yifan gave her a wolfish grin, flashing teeth. She stroked Cao Lu's hair and promised her mate she was not in trouble, no matter how Yifan glared.

Zitao sat stiffly, mortified, and stared at the floor, half considering jumping out of the car. Except he was sure the doors locked while in motion to prevent anyone jumping in or out. Yifan said his name and he forced himself to look at the alpha. It shocked him when he didn't discover a glare or that tight lip mien of disappointment so many alphas gave him, wishing they chose someone else.

"You're not in trouble either," Yifan said as he stroked the backs of his fingers over Zitao's cheek.

"I'll do better the rest of the evening," Zitao promised.

"You are doing fine now," Yifan said, turning his hand and gliding his fingertips along the starched line of Zitao's collar. "I'm amused, not mad, all right?"

"Okay," Zitao said, letting out a long breath.

It felt natural, almost instinctual, to turn his head and nuzzle Yifan's inner wrist, pressing his neck to Yifan's hand, his nose grazing the vulnerable warmth of the pulse point. The smell of sandalwood was thick and fingers flexed as if they meant to pull him closer.

Then Zitao felt the weight of everyone in the limousine _staring_  and jerked away, fixing his eyes on his polished shoes for the rest of the ride.

\---

Comments appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

The party was to celebrate a large donation of artwork the Zhang family had gifted a local museum. (Philanthropy was one of the best ways to get a family name into the news cycle and wipe away mention of other less savory deeds allegedly connected to said family. The Wu family could also get quite philanthropic for the media's eye when required.) It was a drearily boring affair hosted at the museum with living artists in residence to explain their work.

Normally, Yifan loathed this sort of frivolous event. It felt like a waste of his time when there was work to be done.  The mingling aspect was acceptable; it allowed him to network with people he did not have the opportunity to speak with otherwise. But the polite, vapid discussion of art was tedious. Having Zitao along made it bearable. The omega gave Yifan something interesting to occupy his wandering attention and a ready reason to excuse himself, if needed.

His gaze slid to Zitao who nodded as he listened to the beta beside him discuss a painting. (Zitao's head was canted slightly to one side, showing off the delicious sight of his neck.) 

Zitao's cool outward demeanor and handsome face garnered him a good deal of notice. That had been the point, of course. To get everyone (especially the malicious gossips in the Zhang family) talking about having seen him with an omega. But Yifan had not expected to enjoy the envious looks of the other alphas so much. Or enjoy how Zitao didn't mind having Yifan's hand on the small of his back to guide him around the party.

"It's a yellow circle," Zitao said to Yifan after the beta, apparently the artist of the piece, departed.

Yifan chuckled as he accepted two glasses of champagne from a circling waiter. "From the way you were paying him attention, I actually thought you understood his artistic vision," he said, handing Zitao one of the glasses.

Zitao shook his head as he accepted the champagne. "No. Just being polite."

"I was fooled," Yifan said as he took a sip, watching Zitao follow suit.

"Should I be sorry?" Zitao asked in the most charming way as he looked Yifan in the eye. It wasn't demur and it wasn't coy, it was an honest question.

"He'll think better of my family remembering the way my escort hung on his every word, so, no. That was ideal."

Yifan tried not to flash his predatory smile as Zitao took another sip and glanced away, scent of cherry blossoms ripe in the air. It was nice to be with someone who found praise an aphrodisiac. Despite rumors to the contrary, Yifan was not a sadist when it came to his romantic affairs.

He put a hand on the small of Zitao's back once more as he started them moving, leading them around the event to make sure they were seen. (Qian kept giving him _looks_ and Yifan wished she would be half as productive as Cao Lu, who was moving about and insidiously whispering in all the right ears. By the time she was done everyone was going to know Yifan had been seen with a handsome, fragrant omega.) Zitao continued to be ideal for the setting. He was quiet and unobtrusive when Yifan was discussing minor business matters, but would speak up in casual conversation to ask about this or that and generally make the other party feel as if they were important even when they were not.

The night dwindled as Yifan's hand slid lower and lower when they weren't moving.

Technically, while Yifan had made arrangements to keep Zitao out of the Omega House until the next afternoon, he had not made a request to have any sort of sexual liaison. (He hadn't expected Zitao's scent to tease him quite as it did. Or the way Zitao leaned his head to one side or the other when he considered the art, stretching his long neck like an open invitation.) But, if the omega was willing, Yifan saw no reason they shouldn't.

They were standing on the edge of a conversation Yifan had no wish to be a part of, but wanted to overhear, when Zitao let out a mew. The soft, tiny sound might have gone unnoticed if not for the intense burst of cherry blossoms that accompanied it. Yifan turned from the pastoral landscape he had been pretending to admire to look at Zitao as the omega put a hand over his mouth and averted his gaze, embarrassed.

Not that he had reason to be when it was Yifan's fault for drawing the sound out.

His hand was no longer low on Zitao's back, it was on Zitao's surprisingly muscular behind, and he was fondling. It felt incredibly natural to have one of Zitao's butt cheeks in his large hand, squeezing, fingers teasing at the cleft between. The material of Zitao's pants was damp, and Yifan found himself rubbing at that wetness before pulling away his hand. Some of the other alphas had started to stir at the scent of omega arousal.

"You'll have to excuse us," he said, giving his most vicious business smile as he put an arm around Zitao's shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Zitao said as Yifan led him out of the party, through the employee entrance and out to an alley on the side of the building.

"You're not going into heat, are you?" Yifan asked.

"No. It would hurt more. I'm just... aroused," Zitao said as he took several deep breaths and leaned back against a wall. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Yifan asked, putting a hand on the wall next to Zitao's head and leaning into him. The smell of cherry blossoms with that hint of salty sweat was maddening this close. He wanted to bury his face against Zitao's hair, his neck, _everywhere,_ and discover where the scent was strongest. "It's a compliment. Unless you were aroused by some other alpha."

Zitao was trembling a bit, but it wasn't fear. "You're the only one I can smell right now. And no one else was groping me."

The corner of Yifan's mouth pulled at the almost imperious way Zitao said it, as if daring him to take responsibility. "If anyone so much as tried, I'd have ripped their throat out," Yifan said, meaning it as flattery and surprising himself by how much he meant it. He licked his canines. Qian wasn't wrong about it having been a while since he'd been with an omega. "Tell me, do you have an interest in going beyond our arrangement tonight, Zitao?"

"What are you asking?" Zitao said as he swallowed hard. Omega's salivated heavily when aroused.

"You're coming to my penthouse tonight, but do you want to sleep in the guest room as planned, or..." Yifan reached out to caress the side of Zitao's handsome face, watching the black eyes dilate. He felt the heat beneath his fingers as he let the touch fall to slide over the length of Zitao's neck, lingering at the collar. He rubbed a lazy circle over the spot at the join of neck and shoulder where he felt an almost animal need to bite, to lay claim. "Or would sharing my bed interest you?"

The moan Zitao let out was nearly answer enough.

Yifan smirked. Zitao didn't have to beg, but he meant to make the omega _ask_  for it.

Except they weren't alone in the alley.

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Thanks so much to everyone that has left comments and kudos so far. I really, really appreciate them. ^_^ (Just a little more plot before sexy times!)


	6. Chapter 6

Zitao wasn't sure what was happening.

It had been a dream having Yifan's hand on his ass and the alpha all but fingering him at the party. Then Yifan dragged him outside and it felt like every fantasy Zitao ever had about Yifan Wu was coming true as his alpha pinned him against the alley wall, leaned over him, and spoke in a low voice about penthouses and beds. The scent of rain and sandalwood was dizzying, like a typhoon had torn through a grove. He couldn't stop salivating, swallowing hard, as he hoped Yifan would claim his mouth.

Maybe wanting an alpha to do something so intimate as kissing was too fanciful, because Yifan suddenly pushed off the wall and spun away from him.

Zitao didn't have time to spiral into despair as he noticed the four males (all alphas, if Zitao had to guess by the broad shoulder and the scent of their musk) who had come into the alley. They were dressed in black and their faces hidden behind sunglasses and face masks. Yifan was growling (aggressive, not low and sexy any more) as he kept Zitao fully behind him.

"Stay back," Yifan ordered under his breath.

It was like a scene in the movie. The males said nothing as they slowly approached, then abruptly lunged forward. Yifan snarled as he shoved forward and delivered a hard right hook to the first alpha he could reach. The impact of fist to jaw was so hard Zitao heard all but felt it as the alpha stumbled and Yifan hit him twice more. Yifan radiated anger and a lack of concern for the situation, complete confidence he would be victorious. But there were too many of them. The first was down, but the second and third alpha were advancing on him, crowding him so he couldn't move as freely, so he didn't have enough room to deliver his powerful strikes.

The fourth was making his way around to try and jump Yifan from behind.

Zitao reacted before he knew what he was doing, shoving off the wall and letting his body carry him through the movements the way his instructors taught him. He caught the arm of Yifan's attacker and pulled him off balance. His opponent didn't fall, but he did put his weight on heels to catch himself as he made a wild swing with his fist. Zitao easily darted below the punch into a crouch and spun around to slam the heel of his hand into the side of the alpha's knee. The alpha let out a sharp sound of surprise and pain as he fell forward, landing on his uninjured knee.

Gracefully, Zitao twisted around in front of him and took the opportunity to grab the stunned alpha's head and smash it into his knee. It was not the most elegant choice, but it was effective. This was a real fight, after all, not an exhibition match with other omegas and an indulgent alpha instructor. Sunglasses shattered with impact (and Zitao thought he felt the nose behind the mask go sideways) as the alpha crumpled into a heap.

Zitao jumped back, mindful to be out of the alpha's reach in case he wasn't incapacitated.

Then he realized Yifan was watching him, eyes burning into his skin.

Yifan's twin bodyguards had arrived while Zitao was fighting and were gathering up the rest of the dispatched attackers. His secretary was standing in the doorway, one eyebrow raised and regarding Zitao curiously as he spoke quickly, softly into his phone. "I'll inform your cousin what has happened, sir, and have her make your excuses," Show Lo said after a minute, nodding to the end of the alley. "The car is being brought around. I'll have these alphas interviewed."

"I want a name," Yifan growled at Show Lo without looking away from Zitao. "You have until morning to have it for me."

Show Lo raised his eyebrow higher, then bowed his head. "Yes, sir."

Yifan walked over with the slow grace of a predator and put an arm around Zitao's waist before Zitao could reflexively step back. Zitao inhaled with surprise as he was hauled firmly against Yifan's side, fingers digging possessively into his hip as he was led from the alley. As Show Lo said, the limousine was waiting on the street. Yifan opened the door and handed him inside before getting in himself, and then they were on their way.

"Are you all right?" Yifan asked.

"Yes," Zitao said, not sure where to look or what to do as Yifan sat right beside him, putting an arm on the seat-back behind his shoulders. "Uh, are you?"

Yifan let out a snort. "As if they they could have actually taken me down. I may have bruised my knuckles on them." His eyes narrowed at some thought, but he shook it off. "But where did an omega learn to fight like you do?"

Zitao stiffened as he looked down at his hands in his lap. With that question he felt any chance he might have with Yifan slipping away. Omegas were supposed to be sweet and docile, made for an alpha to protect. Still, he answered honestly. "Instructors come to the House for physical education. Most omegas lose interest but... I didn't. I train almost every day, but I... never had a chance to actually fight before."

The response shocked him. "You were impressive for your first fight. It's good you can defend yourself."

Zitao felt the praise like a caress on the inside as his body tightened. "We're told most alphas would find it unbecoming," he said as he kept his eyes on his hands.

Yifan was somehow closer, his arm slipping from the back of the seat to rest on Zitao's shoulders. "Do I seem like most alphas?" he asked, his lips so close they brushed Zitao's ear. The low growl in his voice wasn't angry, it was _something else._ Something that made Zitao's insides shiver as he clenched his ass and hoped his hands hid his growing erection.

"No," he replied. "You're what alphas should be."

"Flatterer," Yifan said in a low chuckle as he pulled Zitao to straddle his lap. "We were interrupted before I got an answer out of you."

"What?" Zitao said, dazed and flushed. His mind was blank of coherent thoughts.

He was _sitting on Yifan's lap._ His hands were on Yifan's wide shoulders to steady himself. Yifan's hands were on his hips to keep him from slipping. He could feel the firm muscle of Yifan's thighs under him. He could feel Yifan's _half-hard cock_ against his inner thigh.

Zitao felt warm everywhere as his gaze was drawn up to dark eyes. He realized Yifan could probably tell his cock was full erect and he was wet enough he feared he might be leaking on the alpha's pant leg. He started to squirm, but Yifan's hold tightened and pulled him nearer, bringing their bodies in closer contact.

"None of that," Yifan said, a sinful smile on his lips. "At least not until you've answered the question."

"What was the question?" Zitao asked, dizzy.

"I'm not used to repeating myself," Yifan said, his tone utterly indulgent. "But it's not your fault we were interrupted. I was asking if you wanted to share my bed tonight."

"Yes," Zitao said with a quiver and no hesitation.

"Yes?"

"Yes," Zitao said, and his voice cracked as it hadn't since puberty. "Yes, I'm interested in sharing your bed."

"Thought you might."

Zitao was breathless as Yifan's fingers moved along his waistband, unfastening the belt and the button with practiced ease, sliding down the zipper. His large hands pushed inside, warm palms caressing the skin of Zitao's hips and sliding around to grope his ass. Zitao heard the mewling noise escape him as he fell forward, burying his face in Yifan's shoulder. That sandalwood and rain scent filled him. He pressed up on his knees, lifting his ass so Yifan could fondle it however he liked.

Yifan was chuckling in his ear, and it was a warm sound, not a mocking one. "So willing and so wet," he said, squeezing with one hand as the other moved to the slick crevasse between Zitao's cheeks. Zitao's hips jerked wantonly as Yifan's fingers teased over his hole, pressing against the pucker. "Is this where you want me? My feisty little omega."

"Yes, alpha," Zitao whimpered.

"Yifan," Yifan corrected against his ear before moving to nuzzle Zitao's neck.

"Yes," he moaned. "Yes, Yifan."

Yifan's lips were pressed to the side of his neck (and Zitao thought he felt tongue and teeth briefly) as he continued squeezing and not-quite fingering Zitao's needy hole, his body dripping and willing. Zitao trembled as he stretched his neck and tried (and mostly failed) to control the shameless rolling of his hips to try and take that finger in deeper. This had to be a dream. Maybe he had been knocked out by one of the attackers and this was all a fantasy. He definitely didn't want to wake up.

"Let me see you," Yifan said, drawing away from Zitao's neck as if with great effort.

His harm slid around Zitao's waist even as he urged him back so he was sitting on Yifan's knees. Zitao bit his lip to hold in any pathetic sounds at the sudden distance between them; Yifan's hold was firm and almost possessive on his waist. In the dim light of the limo, his eyes were gleaming like a predator focused on its prey. "Fuck," Yifan swore, almost sounding reverent as he caressed Zitao's warm cheek and ran his thumb over the bitten lip. "You look as good as you smell."

The hand (and his fingers were so warm, even against Zitao's heated skin) slid down to Zitao's neck, and Zitao heard the sharp intake of breath as he lifted his chin to expose his throat. A few deft tugs and the tie and top buttons of the shirt were undone, Yifan caressing the dip below his Adam's apple. "Dangerous to show throat to a predator, my little peach."

"Not if you want to be devoured," Zitao said, not caring how silly it might sound.

"Good answer," Yifan growled in approval.

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Thank you to everyone that's commented. I really, really do appreciate them.


	7. Chapter 7

Yifan was quite sure he'd never been so irritated for a car ride to be over.

He had a gorgeous, willing, intoxicating (in both scent and personality) omega in his lap, wet and hard, showing throat, and his driver was knocking on the window for permission to open the door and let them out. The temptation to tell the beta to go the fuck away was honestly tempting. But instead he called, "One moment," as he put Zitao to rights, zipping his pants and tugging the back of his jacket down. This would be more enjoyable in a spacious penthouse than the limo floor.

Getting Zitao off his lap, however, was difficult. He stubbornly latched on and clung with strength atypical an omega, which pleased Yifan. A fragrant fighter. How had he missed Zitao's perfection for so long?

"This will be better upstairs," he said, even as he made Zitao let go. His alpha nature still demanded a modicum of dominance.

"You're not... done with me?" Zitao asked in a daze.

"Hardly."

The driver opened the door and Yifan got out first, helping Zitao himself rather than letting the driver do it. He put an arm around Zitao's waist (a proprietary gesture to stake claim) as they walked into his building and across the lobby. He hadn't bothered helping Zitao button the top of his shirt or redo his tie. From the intensity of Zitao's scent (and, considering how aroused he was, Yifan had no doubt his own musk was overpowering to bystanders as well) it was obvious what they had been, and would soon continue, doing. Let those rumors get back to any parties in doubt of his virility and preferences.

They took the private elevator to his penthouse after Yifan informed the guards he wanted _no visitors_  tonight. He didn't care if the Ying Yu herself showed up to see him. He would deal with any such issues tomorrow.

He waited until the elevator doors were closed before putting Zitao's back against one of the reflective gold walls and kissing him. A couple facts became apparent very quickly. First, it was incredibly pleasant having a partner of like height so he didn't have to hunch down for the kiss. Second, Zitao was surprisingly lacking in skill where a simple kiss was concerned. Not bad, per se, but as if he knew how to use his mouth and tongue in a technical way, but not in application.

Still, considering how well he took to martial arts, Zitao was one to learn from instruction and example. In fact, he already was improving, matching the slide of his tongue and lips in reaction to Yifan. Normally, Yifan was a demanding master of his domain and not known for patience. But in this, he could make an exception. He took hold of Zitao's face, a thumb on Zitao's chin to urge him to open wider. Yifan leaned into the omega, pressing their bodies flush so Zitao could feel his erection. To which Zitao responded, pressing back with his own, his hands on Yifan's biceps, kneading. His mouth warm and incredibly wet.

"You haven't been kissed much, have you?" Yifan asked when he pulled back at the sound of the elevator reaching its destination.

Zitao turned his head out of Yifan's grasp as they walked out of the elevator, into the entry of the penthouse. "Not by alphas," he murmured as they took off their shoes. "I am sorry to disappoint you."

Yifan didn't like that deprecating tone in Zitao's voice. He grabbed the omega's chin and caught him in another kiss. "It was an observation," he said, licking Zitao's lower lip, "not criticism. Believe me, you would know the difference."

"Okay," Zitao said in gasping breath, licking his lips and over Yifan's tongue as well.

They walked into the living room of penthouse and Zitao inhaled at the sight of the massive windows and the view of the city skyline. Yifan felt an indulgent smile as the omega left his side to go over and look out at Hong Kong. "You seriously live here?" Zitao asked.

Yifan couldn't help laughing a little. When was the last time anyone so much as made him smile? "Yes," he said as he took off his suit jacket and tie, tossing them on the back of a long leather couch. He unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and his cuffs as he went to join Zitao in enjoying the view. "Do you like it?"

"I've never been up this high," Zitao said, his long fingers pressed against the glass.

"Can I convince you to enjoy the view later?" Yifan asked as he reached over and stroked the back of his fingers against Zitao's nape.

The omega shivered at the touch and nearly whined, "Yes," as he turned to Yifan. "What do you want me to do now?"

There was a veritable list of answers that popped into Yifan's head, but he went with the simplest. "I want you naked," he said, letting his touch fall to pull at the open collar of Zitao's shirt. "Will you do that for me, Zitao?"

"Yes, alpha."

"Yifan," he reminded again. Alpha could be anyone. He wanted Zitao saying his name.

"Yes," Zitao said as he started working at the buttons on his shirt. "Yifan."

Yifan stepped back to lean against the arm of the couch, crossing his arms over his chest as he admired the unveiling. It didn't take long. Zitao wasn't giving him a striptease by any means, but there was still something erotic about the efficient way the omega stripped off his shirt, undershirt, slacks, underwear, and even his socks to drape them on the back of a chair. He didn't attempt to hide anything or be demure like the majority of omegas.

The image of him against the backdrop of Hong Kong's night skyline made Yifan inhale through his nose, drawing in the intoxicating scent of cherry blossoms.  Zitao was gorgeous. His training was obvious with no clothes, wiry muscle beneath rich golden skin, and not an ounce of unnecessary weight on him. He looked strong and healthy, and it made Yifan want to assert himself even more, made him want to be over and inside the omega. Made his lips and teeth ache to be on that strong neck.

Zitao might not have known how to do a striptease, but he was accustomed to being on display. He did a turn for Yifan to look at him from all angles. The shape and musculature of his back and backside were far more to Yifan's artistic tastes than anything from the gallery, and city light streaming in the windows made the wetness seeping from between Zitao's buttocks and down his inner thighs sparkle invitingly. He whirled back around to face Yifan, his hard cock bobbing with the motion. He had good size for an omega and a pleasant shape with a slight lean to the right. It would fit nicely in Yifan's large hand.

"Come here," Yifan ordered, and Zitao obeyed.

He took hold of Zitao's chin and drew him in for another kiss. This one far better than in the elevator. As he suspected, Zitao was a quick study. "Do you want to undress me?" he asked, licking his lips as he let his fingers fall from Zitao's chin along the length of his neck.

"Yes," Zitao answered. His irises were so dark it was hard to tell if his eyes were dilated in the dim light of the room.

"Then, please," Yifan said with a motion for him to do so.

Zitao's fingers were sure as he unbuttoned the dress shirt, but Yifan could feel the nervous excitement from him. Much like his own clothing removal, it was not a slow sexy process, but there was something about the efficiency of how Zitao did it that was pleasing. The omega would stop for moments to stroke the newly exposed skin of Yifan's chest and sides, arms, hips, and lick his lips, cherry blossom scent becoming stronger with heightening arousal. He seemed quite lost in the process as he removed Yifan's pants and let out a shuddering moan at the sight of his cock. Yifan knew he was well-endowed even for an alpha, straight and with a thick knot at his base.

There was drool at the corner of his mouth as Zitao tore his gaze off Yifan's cock and met his eyes. "It's yours tonight," Yifan said as he reached out and stroked Zitao's neck, his fingers lingering at that enticing join were neck met shoulder. He licked his canines. "What do you want?"

"Your cock," Zitao purred in a way that was sure and pleading.

"This cock?" he asked as he reached down and stroked over his erection.

"Please," Zitao moaned.

Yifan flashed a predatory smile as he grabbed Zitao's arm and turned him around, pushing him against the window. "It's a lovely view," he said as Zitao caught himself, his palms pressed flat on the glass. Yifan ran a hand down his back as the omega trembled with want. He followed the line of Zitao's spine to the crevasse between his firm muscular cheeks, sliding into the wetness and testing the waiting hole. Just the slight brush of his finger and he could feel how much Zitao wanted to be penetrated, to have an alpha cock thrusting inside him.

"How bad do you want it?" he asked as he thrust a single finger inside with no resistance, Zitao's body sucking him in.

"I want your cock," Zitao whimpered as Yifan teased and slid in another finger. He wasn't in heat, but he was so incredibly wet. "Please."

Yifan felt his lips curl into a smile as he pressed a light kiss to Zitao's shoulder. "Do you want to touch yourself?" he asked as he spread his two fingers, feeling Zitao stretch for him before thrusting in a third finger. This wasn't necessary, but he liked watching the shivers of pleasure caused by his touch.

Zitao looked over the shoulder Yifan had only just kissed, his eyes wide and dark. "Can I?"

There was a sense of wonder at Yifan asking that made Yifan curious how he'd been treated before. He would have to examine that later. "Touch yourself for me. Show me how you like to work that pretty omega cock," he said as he rested his chin on Zitao's shoulder so he could look down the length of Zitao's chest and stomach. (He noticed how the omega tensed his stomach to show off his abdominal muscles. Gorgeous.) He pressed his fully erect cock to Zitao's hip as he continued working Zitao's hole with his fingers, feeling the wetness increase. It was almost maddening how much he wanted to bury himself inside the omega.

Zitao let one hand fall from the window and wrapped it around his cock. Yifan felt him quiver and moan as he squeezed and started to stroke. The sight of his dark gold skin stroking his hard, flush length was beautiful. Yifan could honestly say he'd never taken so much pleasure watching someone play with themselves. (He felt his balls contract as his mind supplied various images of Zitao playing with himself, sucking his fingers in lieu of a cock, pinching his rosy little nipples, fingering his wet hole while Yifan watched. That would have to be another time.)

"You're good at putting on a show," Yifan said, turning his head to nuzzled Zitao's neck, lapped at it.

He wasn't entirely certain Zitao meant to admit it when he said, "I like to watch myself in the mirror." But Yifan thought he needed to have more mirrors installed in his bedroom if that was the case.

_"Yifan."_

There was something about how Zitao called his name, slow and needy, that stirred something beyond arousal in Yifan's gut, some primitive desire. He needed to be inside the omega. He withdrew his fingers and Zitao let out a mewling of loss. "I'm going to give you something better," he promised, laying a kiss just below Zitao's ear as he settled his hands on the omega's hips.

The similar height (perfect when Zitao pushed onto the balls of his feet) made it simple to slide the tip of his cock inside Zitao's waiting body. "More," Zitao moaned, as if Yifan had any intention of stopping. The alpha pulled Zitaos hips to him as he thrust with one smooth motion, sheathing himself within the omega.

Zitao let out the most glorious cry of pleasure Yifan ever heard as the scent of cherry blossom's filled the room. He started to move, feeling Zitao's body clench around him, not wanting him to pull out, relaxing ever so slightly when he thrust back in. It felt wonderful and not enough. Yifan never experienced the need, the desire deep in his gut, to knot an omega as much as he wanted to knot Zitao. To fill Zitao with his seed. He controlled himself by moving faster, liking how Zitao shoved back in order to meet him, a wet slap filling the air every time their bodies collided..

The wanton sounds Zitao made were as wonderfully aggravating as the scent of him. He'd let go of his own cock and that hand left streaks on the tinted window as he pressed his cheek to cool glass to his profile was to Yifan. Yifan could see drool sliding from the corner of his mouth and dripping to his chin, eyes completely black with pleasure and drifting shut. Yifan found his gaze sliding to the join of neck and shoulder gorgeously on display as he thrust in and out, feeling his climax mounting.

Zitao was whimpering his name. Not calling for an alpha, but a litany of, _"Yifan,"_ over and over.

Yifan hadn't been prepared for the intensity of their coupling, his mind reasoning it had been a long time since he had been with an omega. Somewhere he knew it was more than that, but he didn't care in the moment. Zitao was pleading and he felt that telltale twitch in his knot that he was about to spend. He barely controlled the urge, _need_ , to thrust deep, to bury himself in Zitao.. To feel his knot fill the omega's hole.

He quelled it, but another urge got the better of him.

His hand was suddenly on Zitao's neck, palm gentle against the throat and fingers firm on the sides of the neck as he yanked Zitao against him. There wasn't any panic or struggle as Zitao was pulled from the window, his back flush to Yifan's chest. He tossed his head to one side as Yifan sank his teeth hard into that luscious neck, that sinful spot where neck and shoulder met. It felt divine, like his lips, tongue, and teeth were meant to be there.

Zitao screamed and arched as much as he could with one hand on his neck and the other gripping his hip. He came on the window, white streaks dripping as his hand found the back of Yifan's head and fisted in his hair, holding him there, not letting him draw away.

Yifan wasn't sure he'd ever had such a satisfying orgasm.

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Thank you for the comments, subscriptions, and kudos ! I do appreciate them! ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

Zitao felt as if he had gone from ecstasy to agony.

The night with Yifan had been amazing, beyond anything his wildest fantasies could have come up with. How Yifan kept him close. How Yifan kissed him. (He never knew how much he could enjoy kissing, most his experience in it was practicing with other omegas. Before Yifan, he assumed alphas didn't much care for kissing.) How Yifan made sure he was hydrated and fed between bouts of mind-blowing sex. They had sex against the Hong Kong skyline, over the arm of the leather couch, and in a shower. Then once more in Yifan's bed, after which Yifan held him, and didn't seem to mind Zitao's squeezing him back.

Morning came too fast.

Yifan escorted him back to the Omega House personally. He even kissed Zitao on the steps and said he would be seeing him soon. It didn't matter if it was a lie, it was the most romantic moment of Zitao's life. He would remember one night with Yifan forever.

He felt fine the day after, maybe a little heated as he shared the details with Jia. He was refreshed when he went to his martial arts class the next day. His instructor even agreed to spar with him and showed him a few disarming maneuvers after hearing he'd been in a fight. But the day after that he woke with a throbbing migraine and an aching erection that wouldn't go away. He convinced himself it was nothing, a cold at worst, even as his skin prickled like he wore a coat of pins. But when one of the beta caseworkers saw him in the hall and hurriedly got him back to his room, he knew his heat had come early.

In general his heat was misery incarnate. He had good stamina and a high tolerance for pain, but his heat pushed him over that threshold.

And this time his heat was more intense, more painful than usual. No one else in the house experienced heat like he did; for other omegas a heat was raging desire and need overriding practical thought, but it wasn't pain. Zitao was in _pain_.

He could hardly form sounds other than pants and desperate groans. His pillows were wet tatters from absorbing the free flow of saliva as he bit and tore them to hold in screams. His bed was soaked in sweat and self-lubricant. He couldn't endure the touch of anything against his skin, not clothes or sheets. Even air felt like sandpaper. His cock was rock hard no matter how many times or how much he came. The in-house medic had to give him regular IV's of fluids because he couldn't drink enough; he was dehydrating himself with sweat, drool, and self-lubrication gone into overdrive.

He needed an alpha. He needed an alpha to fuck him and make his heat normal.

He needed _his_ alpha.

"He needs an alpha!" Jia shrieked for him, standing in the doorway of his room. He'd been in heat for a day and no one had come to help him.

"No alpha is going to touch him once they see that claim mark!" His caseworker was shouting from the hall, refusing to come into the room. "There's nothing I can do."

"It's a bite mark! No one claims like that any more!"

"There's nothing to be done for a marked omega, you bitch! I'm more pissed about him ruining himself than you can imagine!"

Zitao didn't hear Jia's response because a gust of cold air from the open door made him scream. The world was nothing but white, hot _pain._

Everything became a blur as he endured. Jia was kneeling on the floor next to his bed the next time he was semi-coherent, stroking his hair and feeding him chips of ice. He suckled hungrily at her fingers like he would the alpha cock he needed. She was kind. She stroked him off when he was so tired he couldn't manage and played with his hole to try and take some of the edge off. (The last time it took the House so long to find an alpha, Luhan mounted him. It tricked his heat for a bit.) Her slender fingers helped a tiny bit, but not enough.

"Am I going to die?" Zitao whispered as Jia gently ran a washcloth over his chest.

"Of course not. You're in heat, not... sick."

"But it can happen, can't it?" Zitao began trembling again and Jia put the washcloth aside. "Dying of uns-s-sated heats?"

"Those are stories they tell to scare us into accepting alphas," Jia said. She didn't sound as certain or dismissive as Zitao wanted her to be. "It'll be okay, Taozi."

Zitao lifted a shaking hand to touch his neck, fondling the bruised place where Yifan had bitten him. It was the only place on his body that didn't hurt. "I want Yifan," he said in a moaning whisper, letting out a whine as the memories of that night stirred his agonizingly aroused body further. He imagined that pungent scent of fresh rain and sandalwood, imagined Yifan kissing him, and reached for his cock. Tears welled and fell down his cheeks.

"We'll find you an alpha and it'll be okay," Jia said, petting his shoulder and setting off sparks of pain, like fire along his nerves. "I promise."

"I don't want any alpha," Yifan said as his lips trembled. "I want Yifan."

Jia didn't reply as she frowned and stared at his neck.

\--

I did say Tao's heats were awful. Sorry it's a bit short. Should be a longer chapter next week. ^_^


	9. Chapter 9

Yifan was in his office preparing for a meeting with representatives of the Zhang family.

A subsidiary of the Zhang's had been behind the attack at the museum, and the main family wanted to _reassure_ him they knew nothing about it and the relationship between the Wu's and Zhang's was still strong and meant to withstand the test of time. Yifan, of course, was certain the main family had known, if not ordered, the attack; but this was the delicate dance to keep peace between Triad families. Since neither he nor Zitao had come to harm, Yifan was willing to leave it at accepting sycophantic apologies. In fact he might owe the Zhang's thanks for accidentally revealing Zitao's abilities in full.

Zitao.

Yifan tapped his pen against the desk and looked out his office window at midday sun reflecting off the skyscrapers.

The omega hadn't been far from his thoughts since he returned Zitao to the Omega House a few days ago. He hadn't wanted to take Zitao back. He hadn't wanted to get out of bed that morning. Not only because of the sex. (Even if Zitao was a delightful mix of naivete and experience.) He enjoyed waking to the sight of mussed black hair and golden skin. The scent of cherry blossoms and sexual exertion. The feel of Zitao's long, muscular body pressed against his.

It felt _right_ in a way Yifan had never known before.

Ying Yu hadn't been happy about it. (But when had she ever been happy?) His aunt had stormed into his office bare minutes after he'd arrived that day and railed about him taking to bed an omega she had not approved first. The obvious argument to diffuse her had been he only took Zitao to the party to have an omega escort and dispel rumors. It was the truth, after all. But the idea of disregarding Zitao, dismissing him, in such a way was poison on his tongue. Instead he endured her tirade until Ying Yu ran out of steam and left.

His cell phone buzzed on the desk and he flipped it over to glance at the screen.

The Omega House's number shown. It could have been Zitao, and that would have pleased him. But more likely it was some administrator that had discovered he was investigating one of their caseworkers. (Beyond the fact Zitao should have been mated by now, nothing was right about the way he talked about his caseworker. Yifan had a feeling he was going to be very, very unhappy when Show Lo had a final report for him.)

"This is Yifan," he answered, ready to shut down any attempts to cajole him into stopping the investigation. Threats of exposure or losing Wu family business should do it.

"This is Yifan Wu?"

The voice was female and vaguely familiar, like he had been near but not directly spoken to the person before. "Shouldn't you know who you're calling?" he asked, which did not require an answer. Clearly he was speaking to some low ranked beta. "I'm a busy alpha. If you have business with me, call my office."

She inhaled shakily, and for a moment Yifan though she might hang up in a panic. But she didn't. "You should take responsibility," she said in a shaking voice.

"Pardon?"

There was a sort quiet punctuated by short, nervous breaths, and then she was yelling. "You should send one of your people over or something," she spat, voice rising and hysteric. "This is your fault!"

The only reason Yifan did not hang up was a nagging sensation in his chest this was important. "What are you talking about?" he demanded instead.

Her shouted response got his full attention. "Zitao! It's your fault his heat came early! And they can't find an alpha for him because you bit him! They think it's a stupid claim mark!" Her voice hitched and dropped to a choked, keening whisper. "Please. You need to send someone to mount him so he doesn't have to hurt any more. He's my best friend, I don't want him to die in heat."

Yifan had a great many reactions, but the most overpowering was a cold, empty sensation at the idea of Zitao _dying_ , followed by unmitigated rage at the idea of any other alpha sating Zitao's heat. "I'll be there soon. Don't let any," he actually snarled, "other alpha touch him or I will rip them to pieces." He ended the call without waiting for a reply and summoned his secretary. "Cancel everything for the rest of the day."

"Your next meeting is already here," Show Lo said as he shut the office door.

"Tell them I have to deal with an omega matter," Zitao said, pulling on his suit jacket. "If they want to keep me from it..."

"I'm sure they will be understanding if I put it like that," he said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll call for your car to be brought around."

"Have you gotten the information I asked for on Zitao's caseworker at the Omega House?"

Show Lo's other eyebrow raised. "Our agents are still doing interviews and tracing bank accounts. But it does seem Mr. Li has been selling access to the omegas under his care to alphas not vetted by the Omega House," Show Lo said, notably keeping out of Yifan's reach. Yifan could only wonder at his own expression. It wasn't as if he had a history of physically lashing out at his subordinates. "Should I make sure he's removed from the premise before you arrive?"

There was a visceral alpha desire to tear the caseworker apart, but he would be no good to Zitao if he were taken into custody for eviscerating someone. That could be done later, at his leisure, and in private. "Have him taken to one of our warehouses by the docks," Yifan said as tucked his phone into his jacket. "I'll be dealing with him personally. In the meantime, make sure you get everything on his dealings, including the names of the alphas who paid him. And find out if anyone else at the House is doing the same. Find out who has been looking the other way."

"Yes, sir."

Yifan stormed out of the office without another word, frightening a pair of betas loitering in the hallway as he passed. He had the elevator ride to the lobby to compose himself, swallowing the snarl lodged in his throat. The car and his bodyguards were right outside and they left without delay.

By the time he arrived at the Omega House his secretary had their agents everywhere and the place was locked down. (There was going to be a lot of PR work needed to sweep all of this under the rug, and he didn't care.) There was a confused beta administrator waiting for him in the foyer, who wisely did not ask what was going on as he led Yifan up to Zitao's room.

The moment he arrived on the second floor, Yifan could smell the intensity of Zitao's heat. The scent of cherry blossoms and salty sweat filled his nostrils and made him rock hard. He felt near overwhelmed by the desire to sink his teeth into Zitao's neck and make sure that mark never faded, the need to bury his knot deep in the omega's body. He left the guide in his wake and followed the scent himself, wondering how he could ever have not known it was meant for him.

He shoved open a door at the end of the hall, almost taking it off it's hinges, and growled at the stale smell of other alphas that lingered in the room, growled at the pink-haired female omega stroking Zitao's hair. "Out," he ordered, moving aside just enough she could pass.

She dared kiss Zitao's forehead before she shot up and stammered a "Thank you" as she fled like he was evil incarnate.

Yifan slammed the door shut behind her and focused on Zitao with a mix of overwhelming lust and crushing concern. He knew Zitao had frequent, violent heats, but he had never seen an omega in such a state. Zitao was drenched in sweat, his own come, and self-lubrication. His eyes were closed and tear tracks ran down his cheeks. The bite mark, _Yifan's mark_ , stood out dark on the glistening golden skin of his neck.

Zitao inhaled and his dilated eyes fluttered open as he stirred. "Yifan," he managed as he contorted, moving too fast as he reached out and tumbled over the edge of the bed onto the floor. The lack of balance and grace fully displayed his poor state as he let out a wanton whine of pain. Yifan leapt forward and dropped to his knees, intent on helping Zitao back onto the bed.

He didn't have a chance to lay a hand on the omega before Zitao pushed up and snatched the front of Yifan's shirt, buttons snapping off as he clutched with shocking power and dragged himself up. "Yifan," he moaned as he buried his face against Yifan's neck, inhaling. "I need you." His teeth scraped beneath Yifan's jaw. Then Zitao's strength abandoned him and he crumpled.

"Zitao," he said, stroking the omega's hair an earning a whine. "I'm here."

The heat radiating off Zitao's skin was surprising as Yifan scooped him off the floor and laid him on the narrow bed. (There were rooms in the House designated for when alphas came to service omegas, but Yiran doubted Zitao cared to go that far.) Zitao let a sharp cry of pain as his back touched the mattress, as if the gravity holding him down was too much pressure to handle. He struggled weakly out of Yifan's embrace and twisted onto his stomach, forcing his knees under him to lift his ass up so Yifan could see his desperate, wet hole.

If not for the obvious misery Zitao was suffering, Yifan would have enjoyed the sight of the trembling omega bent over and beyond desperate for him. Though, he couldn't help how his cock still twitched and his knot throbbed, even as his rational reminded him Zitao was shivering in agony.

"Zitao," he said, lightly running his fingers over Zitao's spine. "Can you hear me?"

Begging, "please, please, please," was not an answer as Zitao buried his face against a damp pillow. _"Yifan."_

Yifan felt the plea in his core as he stripped off his clothes and slid onto the bed behind Zitao. "I'm here," he said as he bowed his head to place a kiss against the small of Zitao's back. He imaged a soft sigh escaping his omega, followed by more pleas.

This was not ideal. Yifan preferred more foreplay, but Zitao needed him.

From now on Zitao would have whatever he needed.

Zitao cried out and clenched his hands in the loose, damp sheets as Yifan took hold of his hips and positioned his cock at Zitao's entrance. "Yifan, yes, yes, please, Yifan," Zitao moaned, repeating his name when he wasn't letting out some pained and confusingly arousing sound. Yifan thrust into him with one sure motion, sliding in up to his knot. He expected a scream, not the shuddering sigh of pleasure and relief he earned. The muscles in Zitao's back visibly relaxed even as the omega's body clenched around him. (That was an amazing thing about omegas. In heat they could take anything, and somehow could feel tight as an unprepped virgin beta.)

Yifan wanted to be gentle and make it last, but he didn't think Zitao would thank him for drawing it out. Not right now. Besides, the alpha in him wanted to be inside as his hips started to move and he began thrusting into Zitao. Zitao's knees slipped and he fell onto his belly. The litany of "Yifan" became interspersed with moans of "Yes" and "More." It felt good. So good. The throaty sounds of Zitao's pleasure filled the air. Yifan groaned as his pace quickened.

It wasn't a conscious decision to yank Zitao's hips up and thrust his knot inside, front of his thighs slapping against the back of Zitao's. But it felt right in a way that was indescribable.

Zitao gasped his name and had enough strength to press into it, as if he were afraid Yifan might pull out before his knot locked them together. Yifan had absolutely no such intention. His fingers were digging into Zitao's hips to keep him in place as Yifan felt his climax come with such intensity his vision blurred.

He fell over Zitao, his hips rolling and grinding as he filled the omega with his seed. His mouth found the place he marked and kissed at it before biting again, digging his canines hard, as his knot began to swell and Zitao moaned. "Mine," he growled, lapping at the smear of blood his teeth had drawn as _his omega_ settled contentedly beneath him, their bodies locked together. "Only mine, Zitao."

\--

Thanks for comments and kudos, I do appreciate them!


	10. Chapter 10

Zitao woke to a subtle, comforting ache on the side of his neck and his heat raging at an endurable intensity.

His body was hot, wet, and eager to be filled, but the rabid need and pain of it was gone. He rolled on his stomach so he could rub his hard cock against the mattress as he buried his face in the pillow. He had a dream Yifan had come and taken care of him, had held him down and made the pain go away in the most perfect way. And Zitao figured he must have gone crazy, because there was no way it could have happened. No way his pillow actually smelled of Yifan, of sandalwood and rain.

He came biting the pillow and thrusting against the mattress, and was momentarily relieved enough he could sit up.

The room was the same as always, spartan with the twin bed and small closet of his clothes, a faux gold framed mirror hanging on the wall. The floor was littered with empty bottles of water, wads of tissue, and damp towels Jia used when taking care of him. (He was grateful, but she always left a mess.) He found a dark gray suit jacket, belt, and pair of shoes in a heap next to the bed that weren't his own. Probably belonging to whatever alpha they got to handle his heat. They must have left in a hurry.

Zitao rubbed at his eyes and wished it had been Yifan like in his dream. They only had one night, but being with another alpha felt like a betrayal. He was surprised he didn't feel sick. He knew some omegas made themselves sick when they didn't get the alpha they wanted.

He wrapped a sweat and come stained sheet around himself and climbed off the bed, his legs shaky. The sensation of fabric against his skin didn't bring pain any more, but the shift of it, like a soft, subtle caress, made his still hard cock twitch and his hole leak for an alpha who was not there. (That heady scent of sandalwood he was imagining did not help the situation.) He went to the mirror to look at himself and found an omega in heat staring back at him. His face flush and chin wet with saliva, lips bruised, his short hair mussed and sticking out every which way. He licked between his lips and ran a hand through his hair. Every time he caught sight of himself in this state, he understood why an omega in heat was irresistible to alphas. If he didn't want to be fucked so much, he'd have wanted to fuck himself. (Luhan and Jia both told him that thought was vain, but he didn't care. It was true.)

Zitao lifted his hand to run his fingers over the bite mark on his neck and frowned. He leaned closer to his reflection for a better look.

It was darker, fresher, now, a bit of dried blood flaking away from his touch where the skin had broken. He flattened his palm to cover it possessively as the worst scenarios ran though his head. Had his caseworker done something to disguise it? Had the alpha they found bitten over Yifan's mark? The ideas nearly broke him down into tears as his breath came in quick gulps.

Then the door to his room opened and he didn't feel the need for unhappy tears any more.

Yifan entered like the room belonged to him, wearing only an unbuttoned white shirt and slacks that matched the suit jacket on the floor. "Of course you woke before I came back," he said, lips turned up in amusement as he shut the door and latched it. "I had to speak with the director of the House. How do you feel?"

Zitao just stared as his knees gave out and he slid to the floor, split between relief and certainty he was still dreaming.

Except dreams didn't smell so wonderfully pungent and didn't help with sure, large hands to get him off the floor and sitting on the bed. Zitao felt dizzy as the alpha stood in front of him. All he wanted to do was bury his face in Yifan's crotch and rub his cheek against the straining erection or flip onto his knees and offer up his incredibly wet hole. The latter felt like deja vu as Zitao attempted to remember the night before. It was a blur of pain and want, and Yifan.

"Why are you here?" he asked, his voice shaking as he wiped his chin and looked up at the alpha.

"Because you're mine and you're in heat," he answered. "No other alpha is allowed to touch you from now on."

The words didn't make sense. "But what if I need one?"

If he hadn't been in a heat-addled frame of mind, Zitao would never have said such a thing to a declaring alpha. He saw the flash of displeasure in Yifan's eyes followed by pure indulgence as the alpha reached out and stroked Zitao's hair. "My knot is all you need, Zitao."

Zitao felt his balls tighten and his hole gush as much from the idea as the way Yifan said it, how the words resonated deep in his gut. "Yes, Yifan," he moaned even as some rational part of his mind wondered what his caseworker would say about all this. Not that he cared.

"Good," Yifan said, wiping drool from Zitao's chin. "You seem in less pain and more coherent now. Was that normal for you?"

"Hurts like I'm dying until I get an alpha," Zitao said, more fixated on the fingers touching his face than words. "Then it's a normal heat. Horny instead of hurting."

"I can tell," Yifan said, deep voice purring as Zitao sucked at his fingertips. "Why don't you take suppressants?"

"Make me sick," Zitao answered as he licked and nuzzled Yifan's wide palm. "Except the injections, but those are too expensive."

"You no longer need to worry about expense. Whatever you want is yours."

Zitao still didn't understand quite what Yifan was saying as he looked up. "Are you taking me with you?"

Yifan's hand slid to cradle his cheek as their eyes met. "Yes."

Zitao didn't know if Yifan meant for a day or a week or forever or if he was simply being kind to a clingy omega in heat, but Zitao felt tears start to flow. "Need your cock," he whispered, hoping Yifan mistook the tears for heat hysterics and not overwrought emotions. "Please, Yifan."

Yifan took hold of his chin and lifted it, smiling gently as he leaned down and gave Zitao a kiss. "As you like, Zitao."

The sound of his name on Yifan's lips made him shiver violently with want as the alpha drew away to remove his shirt and pants. He yanked the sheet away from Zitao's body and paused to admire him. "Lovely," he growled as he nudged Zitao so he fell onto his back on the mattress. It was like a fantasy as Yifan climbed over him, laying on him so the length of their muscular bodies were pressed together, Yifan's erect cock against his own.

"Is this what you need?" Yifan asked as he rolled his hips, drawing a gasp from Zitao. "Can you ask for it?"

"Let me have your cock please," Zitao whimpered as he kissed Yifan's chin, his neck, wherever his lips landed. "Can I? I need it, Yifan. I want it."

Yifan groaned as he pressed his lips to Zitao's forehead. "I wanted to torment you, but you ask too sweetly to deny," he said as he pushed up, kneeling between Zitao's legs as he stroked his length in anticipation. His cock was gorgeous and large and Zitao needed it inside him. Zitao whimpered and swallowed hard as he started twisting to roll over onto his stomach, but Yifan grabbed his leg and kept him from moving. "I want you on your back."

Zitao stared at him in confusion. "I've never done it like that."

Once again there was that flash of displeasure in Yifan's eyes, but Zitao didn't feel it was directed at him. Then Yifan smiled, sexy and delightfully evil, effectively wiping any concern from Zitao's mind. "Then it pleases me to be your first," he said as he slid his hands along the inside of Zitao's thighs and hooked his fingers beneath the crook of Zitao's knees, lifting so Zitao was pinned on his shoulder blades. "We're going to do it this way, Zitao. And I'm going to watch your face as my knot fills you."

Zitao couldn't help it, his ready body jerked and he came all over his chest at the very idea.

"Like that thought, do you?" Yifan asked in a low chuckle.

A moan was the only answer Zitao could manage as he shakily moved his hands to hold his legs for Yifan. The position was incredibly exposed with his ass partially lifted up in the air, he felt open and vulnerable. (If it had been anyone but Yifan, he felt as if he might have panicked.) Yifan loomed over him as he traced his fingers along Zitao's thighs, caressing his ass, and sliding between his cheeks like he was testing the wetness. The feel of two fingers easily sliding into him made Zitao let out a gasping shudder, and he wanted more. 

Yifan's eyes were dark with desire and his naked chest was heaving in that way an alphas did when they were barely controlling themselves. "Look at me, Zitao," Yifan commanded in a low growl as he pulled out his fingers and rubbed his thick cock against Zitao's exposed backside.

Zitao jerked to meet Yifan's gaze and he felt a flush run over him even hotter than the burn of his heat. Yifan was looking at him, at only him. It felt like the alpha was devouring him with that gaze, felt like Yifan was looking into his soul. "Yifan, alpha," he managed to get out between shivering lips. "Claim me." It was a strange thing to say. Jia was right, no one claimed any more, but it felt right rolling off his tongue, and he _wanted_ it.

The sound that came out of Yifan was violent and _alpha_ in the most erotic of ways as he took Zitao, thrusting into him hard. Zitao gasped and his fingers clenched his legs where he held them as Yifan rose over him, looking like some kind of alpha deity, pushing him on his shoulders as he drove his cock deep into Zitao. Then Yifan's mouth was on his, kissing him, coaxing his lips apart. Yifan's tongue delving into the depths of Zitao's mouth. Zitao tried to keep up, sliding his own tongue along Yifan's as he let go of his legs and wrapped his arms around Yifan's neck. He liked being kissed. He liked how Yifan kissed him. (The other alphas never kissed him and he'd only ever played at kissing with his fellow omegas. It was far, far more intense and passionate to have Yifan's lips locked against his own.)

He wrapped his legs around Yifan's waist and squeezed so the alpha couldn't go too far as Yifan pounded in and out of him in a slow, demanding rhythm. It felt good, and for once, Zitao didn't think that was only because his heat was being sated. It felt like his body had needed Yifan all his life.

Yifan's lips drew away from his and Zitao blinked, a flash of worry he'd done something wrong. Then Yifan was nipping at his chin, silently urging him to show throat. And Zitao did, willingly, stretching his neck for Yifan. He let out a wanton, desperate sound as he felt Yifan's teeth graze over his adam's apple. Zitao swallowed hard at the flow of saliva in his mouth, panting.

The alpha licked, sucked, and nipped at his neck, sometimes just brushing his lips or blowing against a wet trail to make Zitao shiver. Yifan's mouth found the spot on the side of his neck, raw and delightfully sore. He laved over it as his pace quickened and Zitao stretched his neck to the side.

Zitao let out a moan of _Yifan_ as he felt the alpha's teeth sink into his bitten flesh. It hurt but it also made him feel safe and adored; it soothed his heat while somehow stoking it to new heights. His hips jerked and his limbs squeezed around Yifan with all his strength as he came in the space between their bodies. There were stars behind his eyes as he gasped for air, pressing his face to Yifan's neck, inhaling a thick scent of rain and sandalwood.

Yifan twisted in his grasp, drawing away even as Zitao whined. "I'm not leaving," he said in a low, deep voice as he raised up. "Look at me, Zitao."

Zitao hadn't realized his eyes were shut as he opened them and met Yifan's gaze, dark with desire, staring down at him adoringly. He'd stopped moving his hips, his cock buried deep inside Zitao, but not deep enough. "Knot me," Zitao whined as he tried to pull Yifan back down against him.

"Are you telling me what to do?" Yifan asked in a rough voice.

"Yes."

Yifan smirked. "Keep your eyes on me, Zitao," he said as he began to slip out, drawing as far away as Zitao's grip would allow. He thrust back in again, his knot slapping up against Zitao's wet hole.

Zitao heard himself pleading, his short nails scraping across Yifan's shoulders as he kept his eyes on Yifan. There was this little, delicious alpha snarl pulling at the corner of his mouth and his eyes were wild with need as he pulled out and slammed in again. Keeping his eyes on Yifan was hard when all he wanted to do was shut them and let sensation take over, to arch and writhe under his alpha. Yifan's movements became harder, rougher, his expression possessive, aggressive, _alpha._

The feel of Yifan's knot sliding inside him with a hard snap of the hips made Zitao scream with pleasure. He felt Yifan's climax filling him as the knot began to swell, to expand to the limits of Zitao's body, locking them together and keeping Yifan's semen inside.

Yifan's mouth was on his stretched neck, grazing his teeth over the mark.

It was bliss.

\---

Thanks for the comments, kudos, and bookmarking my story!


	11. Chapter 11

Zitao’s heat made him a heavy sleeper.

Not that Yifan was surprised given the dark half-moons under his eyes and how quickly he fell asleep after Yifan’s knot finally released. The omega was clearly exhausted, his body limp and draped over Yifan's chest, breathing softly as Yifan watched him. Watched the way sweat damp hair clung to golden skin and framed his face, watched his wet, parted lips, watched how his long eyelashes settled on his cheeks. He had a glow about him.

Zitao was probably pregnant.

Not that it mattered to Yifan if he was now or would be in the near future. (Though, if he had alphas coming to him on a regular basis, it was also likely he was on some kind of contraceptive. The Omega House wouldn’t have housed him if he didn’t test as fertile, but getting pregnant before being mated would have been an issue. Yifan supposed it was something else he would be discussing with Zitao’s former caseworker.)

Yifan stroked his fingers over Zitao’s cheek and down his neck, caressing the raw, bloody mark he left. He liked the look of it, a blemish of his making on Zitao's smooth skin. There were at least a dozen other marks all over Zitao’s body, little brown and purple love bites made without teeth, but this one he had no intention of letting fade. Still, he probably needed to give the mark time to heal.

He idly wondered if Zitao understood what his being here meant, if he understood Yifan had every intention of declaring him his mate. It was an abrupt decision, and not like Yifan at all. But if the mere suggestion of another alpha sating Zitao’s needs caused him to drop everything and annex an Omega House, Yifan couldn’t deny some instinct had made the decision already. Fortunately, Zitao was a good choice: handsome, feisty, fragrant, and a dream in bed. They could discuss the particulars more after Zitao’s heat fully dissipated. (Even after being knotted twice, his skin was burning and his needy erection was firm against Yifan’s thigh.)

The corner of Yifan's mouth pulled up and he wasn't sure if it was a smirk or a snarl as he inhaled the scent of sexual exertion and cherry blossoms.

Ying Yu was going to be furious.

Not only had he chosen an omega she already crossed off her meticulous lists; he knotted him before going through the traditional ceremony for when a Wu alpha took an omega to mate. (He doubted assuring his aunt he had every intention of going through the ceremony would abate her anger. But it wasn't as if he were the first Wu to get ahead of themselves. His alpha-father had knotted all three of the omegas he took as mate long before the ceremony. Not that Yifan desired to act anything like his alpha-father. Ever.) She also wasn't going to be happy that he had no intention of installing Zitao at the Wu family compound, where the other Wu omegas and Wu children lived. But that he decided ages before he met Zitao, back when he was a child. No mate of his was ever going to live like his omega-father, frightened of alphas and visited only to be rutted on. (Qian hadn't sent Cao Lu to the compound either. Ying Yu had cause to be frustrated with the nontraditional younger generation.)

Yifan kissed Zitao's forehead as he twisted to retrieve his phone from the floor.

From the barrage of missed calls, frantic texts, and massive chains of e-mails, one would have thought he vanished for twelve days instead of barely twelve hours. Though a fair amount of the influx was in regard to the Wu family having occupied a popular Omega House, refusing to let anyone in or out. Denying wealthy, influential alphas access to omegas they were courting was pretty much a declaration of war. Yifan couldn't imagine what he would have done if he had arrived and anyone attempted to keep him from Zitao.

Whatever Show Lo was doing to keep this from having already turned into a bloody disaster, he owed the beta a raise.

Yifan sent a dozen messages to arrange his departure from the Omega House and turn it back over to staff within the next hour. The Wu family was going to be doing lots of philanthropy and ass-kissing to smooth this over. But looking at Zitao snuggled against him, Yifan didn't regret his impulsiveness.

Slowly, with great reluctance, he shrugged away from Zitao and got up from the narrow bed. His omega let out a low pitched whine as he rolled into the warmth Yifan left behind, a soft, contented sigh escaping as he nuzzled his face into the pillow. The idea of waking Zitao up, flipping him over, and having him again was tempting. And only knowing he would soon have the opportunity to do so in a much larger, more comfortable bed stalled Yifan.

Already his phone was vibrating with responses. His limo was being brought around and his bodyguards were doing a safety check before coming to escort him and Zitao down to the car. He pulled on his suit, not bothering with buttoning his shirt and shoving his tie in the jacket pocket. He went to Zitao's dresser to look for something the omega could wear. Something comfy and easy to slip into. (And out of.) He selected track pants and a T-shirt with a wide neck.

There was a timid knock on the door, which he ignored, but then it came again with a bit more force. 

The pink haired omega he sent out of the room when he first arrived was standing on the other side of the door, holding a couple bottles of water to her chest. "Yes," he said, filling the doorway with his presence and staring down at her.

"Is Zitao okay?" she asked, attempting to glance around him.

"You were the one who called me," Yifan said, recognizing the voice. "I'm not accustomed to being yelled at."

Zitao's friend apparently had as much backbone as he did. She flinched but didn't back down. "I needed you to come help him. Is he doing better now?"

Yifan still didn't move aside, but he nodded. "He is."

She let out a sigh and Yifan was almost curious what she would have done if he hadn't answered. "I brought you guys some water," she said, holding out the bottles in her arms. "Tao gets really badly dehydrated, and I don't think you're going to let the doc near enough to give him an IV while he's still in heat."

He accepted the water, holding both bottles in one large hand. "I'll be taking him from here shortly, but I'll take your concerns under advisement," he said, considering the female omega. "What's your name?"

"Jia."

"You know Zitao well?"

"I told you, he's my best friend."

That, more than any other factor, softened Yifan's demeanor a touch. "Then you would know. Are his heats always this bad? The pain and the need?"

Jia licked her lips and made another attempt to look around him. "He's got it the worst of anyone here. And this heat... it really was bad, and early. I think your pheromones set him off."

There was an accusatory tone in her voice, but Yifan let it go without remark. "How long does his heat normally last?"

The omega sighed. "Maybe three days but usually they find someone for him faster. If he's still in heat today, I bet he's better by tomorrow." She pursed her lips as if debating something. "You do know his heats come really close together, right? It's not even a month before he'll have another, but that doesn't mean he's a plaything."

Yifan looked down at her. "Now, why do you think I'd treat Zitao like a plaything?"

She pressed her lips in a tight line, obviously not trusting him. Yifan didn't get a chance to inquire more, he heard the sounds of Zitao beginning to stir. Though he made a mental note to send Show Lo (or maybe ask Qian to send Cao Lu) to interview her further. Because, of course, the omegas would know what was happening in the House, but no one was likely to ask them.

"Can I still see him after you take him away?" Jia asked before he shut the door.

"If he wants."

"You're not going to lock him up?"

Somehow, Yifan imagined if he so much at attempted, Zitao would be climbing over the gated walls of the Wu family compound the moment he was bored of it. The idea brought a hint of a smile to his lips. "If I wanted an omega I could lock away and forget about, Zitao would be a poor choice."

That seemed to mollify Jia as Yifan shut the door.

"Yifan?" Zitao asked, blinking blearily as he raised his head from the pillow. "Did I hear Jia?"

"She brought water for you," Yifan said as he walked over and sat on the edge of bed, helping Zitao to sit. His eyes were still dilated as he wiped saliva from his chin, clearly still in heat. "Drink. And then I need you to get dressed."

Zitao halfway complied, finishing both the bottles and looking at the clothes Yifan had set out. "I don't want to wear clothes," he said as he tossed the bottles aside. Yifan got up and retrieved the pants and shirt, bringing them over. Zitao hooked his fingers in the waist of Yifan's slacks and looked up at him, his gaze like black holes drawing Yifan in. The scent of him seemed more intense with his desire to entice and distract. "Neither of us needs clothes right now, _Yifan._ "

The way Zitao purred his name nearly undid him. He wanted nothing more than to strip and shove Zitao down, to be buried inside him and have his mouth on that long, beautiful neck. He grit on his molars to control himself. Yifan heard about the difficulties of trying to travel with an omega in heat. It seemed he was about to experience it first hand.

"I need to leaves, and I need you to come with me, Zitao," he said, dislodging Zitao's hands and handing him the clothes.

"I do want to come with you," Zitao said with the most sinful smile. Then he blinked in confusion and it fell away before Yifan gave into temptation. "We're leaving?"

"Going to my penthouse," Yifan replied as he reached out and stroked Zitao's cheek.

Zitao rubbed his cheek wantonly against Yifan's fingers and made another reach for Yifan's slacks, which was not getting dressed. "No," Yifan said as he stepped back, putting distance between them. "I'll give you what you want once we're home, but I need you to get dressed now."

"I need it," Zitao whined, swallowing hard.

"Zitao," Yifan said, voice firm. "I've knotted you twice. You're no longer in pain, and while I know you're still in heat, I also know you have better discipline than this."

That seems to sink in as Zitao looked down. "I don't want you to go."

Yifan attempted to be gentle. "You're not listening, Zitao. I said you're coming with me and I'm not leaving you until your heat breaks." He never had much sympathy for alphas who went missing when their omegas were in heat, but he was beginning to understand. "But we need to go back to my penthouse, and you need to be dressed."

Zitao nodded, mumbled an "okay,"  and slowly pulled on the shirt and track pants, moaning like Yifan's hands were running all over his body. Yifan kept his distance even as his body tightened, knowing if Zitao started to rub against him he'd lose his resolve and they'd both be naked in an instant.

It felt like forever before the bodyguards arrived to escort them downstairs to the waiting limo. Zitao sat on the bed with his eyes closed and panting, attempting to master his heat, shifting to get away from the erotic touch of the clothes rubbing against his skin. Yifan watched him, arms crossed over his chest, clutching his biceps to keep his own calm. He growled when his bodyguards finally arrived.

The drive to the penthouse was torture.

Yifan managed to restrain himself from taking Zitao on the floor of the limo as Zitao sat with his eyes close, taking measured breaths. But as soon as they arrived, Yifan opened the door himself and dragged Zitao out. He marched across the lobby of his building and into the private elevator, yanking Zitao into a kiss as soon as the doors  closed. The omega's arms looped around his neck and he bit at Yifan's lip, rubbing his entire body against Yifan's.

It was premature to assume they were free of interruption as the elevator doors opened to his penthouse.

Qian and Show Lo were waiting in the hall between the entrance and living room. Both Show Lo's eyebrows shot up at the sight of Yifan's rumpled suit, mussed hair, and his bitten lip. (He'd yanked his mouth away from Zitao's teeth too fast when he sensed their presence.) Qian had the audacity to smirk as Yifan instinctively pushed Zitao slightly behind him. Zitao fisted a hand in the back of his suit jacket so he didn't step away.

"I was on my way out," Show Lo said abruptly. "I left some reports in your study."

"Oh, don't be a coward," Qian said, grabbing Show Lo's arm before he could get away. She fixed Yifan with a look. "We need to talk, cousin."

Yifan felt his lip curl in a snarl and she sighed.

"Oh, fine. Considering you look ready to give away all the Wu family assets so you can be alone with your omega there, I suppose it can wait," she said, then her lips pursed. "But it's about the Zhangs, and it's important, Yifan. As soon as you're in a state for it, we need to talk."

"Tomorrow," Yifan said as he glanced over his shoulder at Zitao. The omega was breathing heavily, but controlling himself, and Yifan took pride in his discipline.

Qian linked arms with Show Lo to escort him out. "I've been there," she whispered loudly to the secretary as they moved past Yifan. "Heats are maddening until you figure what your omega needs from you."

"I wouldn't know," replied the beta.

Yifan didn't even wait to be sure they left before he turned and pulled Zitao to him, kissing him. The omega pressed into him and stepped him back into the living room, an arm around Yifan's waist.

"Are you trying to push me around?" Yifan asked with a smirk as he drew away and licked his lips.

"Yes," Zitao answered, nipping at his chin.

Yifan couldn't hide a grin as he scooped the omega up and carried him to the bedroom.

The room was black, white, and gray with red accents. Something contemporary his interior decorator had picked out of a magazine. He didn't really care what it looked like under the best circumstances, and at the moment the only thing he cared about with the large bed.

To his surprise, Zitao struggled and twisted out of his grip, planting his feet on the floor. Before Yifan could figure out what was the problem, Zitao's hands were gripping hard on the front of his suit jacket and Yifan felt one of Zitao's legs slip between his, hooking at the ankle and spinning him onto the bed. He landed on his back as Zitao leapt on top to straddle him. Surprisingly, he rather enjoyed being thrown down.

"Is that how to treat your alpha?" Yifan asked as he grabbed Zitao's ass and ground up against the omega.

"Yes, Yifan," Zitao growled, leaning down to kiss him.

\--

Comments appreciated!


	12. Chapter 12

Zitao woke in the center of a huge, plush bed with the blankets piled high around him and Yifan's scent _everywhere._

His heat broke early that morning. It had been a relief when the burn dimmed and his erection finally went limp. And while his recollection of what happened during his heat was hazy and questionable, he did vividly recall how Yifan continued to hold and pet him once the desperate need to mate subsided. (Though, waking in Yifan's bed made a few of the memories he would have written off as impossible seem a little more plausible.)

He groaned as he reached up and touched his neck. Not where Yifan had bitten him wonderfully raw, but his nape, where Yifan laid a kiss that morning. _"Sleep as long as you like,"_ he'd whispered in Zitao's ear. _"I won't be far."_

Zitao shivered at the memory as he pushed up to sit, letting the blankets and sheets slough off his body. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked around the room. He'd been in it once before and his impression was the same; it seemed like a powerful alpha's bedroom out of a magazine, but not necessarily like Yifan's. Not that he knew what would make it a Yifan bedroom in particular. Zitao crawled out of bed and moaned as he stood, doing a series of stretches to work out his body. He needed exercise after... he wasn't sure how long his heat lasted this time.

Normally he would have gone to the dojo to chase the last of his heat away, but he didn't think Yifan was sending him home today. He remembered... promises that were so close to fantasies he would have to ask to be sure. (He shivered at the idea it was true and more that Yifan would tell him it was all in his head.)

He made his way to the large bathroom attached to the bedroom and glanced at himself in the mirror. After his heat, he always looked a sated mess, but he thought he seemed a bit healthier then usual. There was a warm color to his skin and a gleam in his black eyes instead of dull exhaustion, like he'd had a good workout. He had been more active last night, prior to his heat breaking, than all his previous heats combined, and Yifan allowed it. Yifan seemed to even like him better active.

The thought warmed his cheeks further as he tilted his head to the side to look at the dark mark on his neck. It should have hurt. Yifan was not gentle when he locked his jaw, digging his teeth deep. But there was something about the intimacy of the bite that made the pain erotic, soothing, instead of it being a wound. Zitao trailed a finger over the mark as he glanced over the other love bites all over his chest and arms, even his belly, lighter bruises that stood out against his golden skin. He ran a hand over a nip just above his bellybutton as a vague memory of Yifan reverently laving his stomach struck him.

Could he be pregnant?

No, of course not. The alphas that came to sate omegas in heat always used condoms; and his caseworker was extra particular about it. But those other alphas almost never knotted him. Yifan had, at least four times. Had Yifan been using a condom? Zitao tried to remember, and couldn't, as he idly ran a hand over his stomach. The idea made him shiver with fear and desire. In any case, it was days too early to test, and he was probably overthinking.

He took a shower to wash off the layer of dried sweat, come, and his own body's lubrication, scrubbing himself clean with Yifan's body wash. It felt wonderful. So did the extra soft towels as he dried off and walked back into the bedroom. He eyed his track pants on the floor next to the bed, stiff with everything he'd just washed off. His shirt and been ripped, which he sort of recalled as being playful retribution for popping the buttons off Yifan's several hundred dollar shirt. He heard Yifan's voice, remembered his alpha's lips against his ear: _"Not nice, Zitao. That was Armani."_

Zitao carefully tucked the memory away for later as he muttered to himself. "Can't walk around naked."

The secretary and Yifan's cousin had been here when they arrived yesterday, he was pretty sure. Meaning people other than Yifan had access to the penthouse, and while Zitao guessed no one was allowed unrestricted access to snoop in Yifan Wu's bedroom, he didn't particularly want to run into Qian Song naked. 

The closet was part of the wall, a nearly invisible sliding door that opened to reveal a neatly arranged walk-in. Most of the clothes seemed grouped in outfits ready to be put on. No wonder Yifan was always so well put together. He found a drawer with plain black slacks and a folded black button-up shirt that weren't assigned and put the clothes on. They fit fairly well. Though Yifan's shoulders were a bit broader and his waist slightly narrower.

He peeked out of the bedroom as he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows.

There were always people in the halls of the Omega House's main building, so the quiet and emptiness was strange. His bare feet stuck to the wood panel floor as he glanced in the other rooms in the hall, finding a pair of guest rooms and a sun room with a small balcony. He continued on to find a dining room before the kitchen. Zitao drank some water. (That was another thing he remembered, Yifan coaxing him to drink and keeping him hydrated.) He found an orange, eating the slices as he wandered into the living room with the wall of windows and view of Hong Kong (he remembered intimately), a wet bar in the corner. But no Yifan.

He glanced down the entryway where the private elevator had a red light on the buttons. Maybe it was locked. He was shocked to discover another couple doors around a corner. The penthouse was ridiculously large if only Yifan lived there. One door hid a book-laden study that smelled of old cigars, and a collection of liquor that rivaled the one in the living room. The other door was closed and contained muffled voices.

The only thing Zitao was thinking was one of those voices had the cadence of Yifan as he knocked on the door and opened it a crack.

Inside the room, an office, went silent as three sets of eyes landed on him. Qian and Show Lo twisted in their seats opposite the massive mahogany desk, while Yifan simply raised his gaze from the papers in front of him, his face stern. (Though, Zitao thought the expression might have softened when his eyes lit with recognition of who it was.)

"I'm sorry," Zitao said, bowing low and making sure not a toe crossed the threshold. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

Show Lo was smiling easily and waving when Zitao raised his head. Qian, on the other hand, sported a huge smirk as she looked across the desk at Yifan. "This is why you need an omega of similar height, isn't it? So he can borrow your clothes and you don't have to get him a whole new wardrobe," she said, her tone teasing as she clucked her tongue and shook her head as if it were a tragedy worthy of opera. "Don't be cheap, cousin."

The need to defend Yifan outweighed the sensible option of being silent. "My clothes weren't fit to be seen in," he said, eyes darting to Yifan. "Sorry, I assumed it would be all right to wear some of yours."

"It's more than all right," Yifan said as he got up from his desk, glaring at Qian. "Don't mind my cousin."

"You see how awful he is to me," Qian said, grinning at Show Lo, who simply raised an eyebrow in response.

Yifan ignored them as he rounded his desk and crossed the office like a predator, stepping Zitao back into the hallway and shutting the door. "How are you feeling?" he asked, reaching to smooth the back of his fingers over Zitao's cheek. "Your skin feels hot to the touch still."

Zitao licked his lips and swallowed the obvious answer that it was Yifan's touch bringing heat to his skin. "I'm better. My heat passed," he said as he glanced at the office door, because looking into the alpha's eyes made him flush even hotter. "I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting. I thought I should look for you, you said you wouldn't be far..."

The touch slipped from his cheek into a light caress against his neck, over the healing mark. "So your first instinct was to find me."

"I guess so," Zitao said.

There was a pleased smile on Yifan's lips before he spoke again. "I do need to finish this meeting, but Show Lo has the rest of the afternoon and evening cleared so I can spend it with you."

Zitao opened his mouth, but didn't know what he meant to say, so he shut it and let the alpha keep talking.

"Explore as much as you want. Enjoy the penthouse," Yifan said, his hand still lingering on Zitao's neck. "I do ask you don't leave the building right now."

"All right," Zitao agreed. "I wasn't planning on leaving."

Yifan leaned in and Zitao inhaled a breath as the alpha's lips pressed against his. "Good answer," he said, drawing back just enough to speak, his words a caress, and then kissed Zitao again. "I'll be done soon. Be patient."

Zitao nodded, his head spinning, as Yifan went back into the office. Qian was laughing.

He ran a finger over his lips as he walked back down the hall, considering. Maybe some of those pretty words he remembered had been real, maybe Yifan did want to keep him. The sight of a staircase distracted him from getting too hopeful or starting to worry.

There was a floor below the one he was on? How much space did a single alpha need?

Downstairs was a billiards room and a movie room with a massive flat screen television embedded in the wall and comfortable seating. Which did explain why there was no television in the living room. Though it didn't look as if the room got much use.

And then Zitao found what he hadn't realized he was looking for.

A gym.

The room was large, taking up a third of the area on the lower floor. There were an assortment of machines and benches, a pull up bar, a bevvy of weights, and an empty space with a wall of mirrors to observe ones stances and posture, mats neatly stacked in a corner. Zitao inhaled the scent of old exertion (and a hint of blood), mixed with cleaning chemicals and Yifan's sandalwood and rain. This was clearly a well loved and maintained area, and so much better equipped than the physical education center at the Omega House. The only thing it was missing was the porch outside with its wild overgrowth.

He walked over to the mats and started laying them out. Yifan had said for him to enjoy the penthouse.

Once the mats were down he began with his stretches, allowing his his mind to find focus and center on the physical. It felt amazing to work out after a heat, to use his body instead of it being used, to be master of his own form. (He probably should have worried about getting Yifan's clothes sweaty, but the concern hardly crossed his mind. Or maybe it was a subconscious test to see how the alpha would respond.) His body was stiff and sore as he started his routine, but it woke as he flowed from one pose to another, holding each for as many breaths as he'd been taught, and repeating.

The scent of sandalwood and fresh rain caught his attention toward the end of his fourth pass, but he didn't react. He finished the set before turning to find Yifan leaning in the doorway, watching.

"I somehow knew this was where I would find you," he said as he pushed away from the frame and walked over, barefoot, to join Zitao on the mats.

Yifan was only wearing a white button up shirt and gray slacks, his hair combed away from his face but not sprayed with product to hold it. Zitao felt an intense urge to run his fingers through Yifan's hair and mess it up. Like it had been last night when he had Yifan pinned beneath him and the alpha showed him another new position, how he could enjoy an alpha cock sating his needs and be on top. Sex, it seemed, had a lot more options than simply letting an alpha mount him from behind.

Zitao ran a hand through his own hair instead, damp with exertion. "Your home is very nice," he said, working to calm his breathing. Holding martial art stances was more exertion than people realized. His muscles were on fire and he was covered in a healthy sweat.

"It's good you like it here," Yifan said, reaching out to stroke away a lock of hair stuck to Zitao's forehead.

"Will I be staying long?" Zitao managed the courage to ask. 

"I should hope so."

They were both breathing a bit unevenly and Yifan's eyes were dilated, his lip pulling to show his canines, like he wanted to sink them into Zitao. After the last couple days it didn't seem possible there should be any sexual energy left between them. However, if Yifan were to take him right there on the mats, Zitao would be glad for it. In fact, he would probably purr for the alpha.

"Do you want to spar?"

"Yes," Zitao answered, and then remembered he should demure. "But I don't think I'd give you much challenge."

"You forget I've seen you in action," Yifan said with a snort as he stepped around Zitao.

Zitao stepped back and to the side, mirroring Yifan's movement and keeping space between them. He trained in Wushu, and he could see aspects of that style in the way Yifan moved. But he could see indications of other martial styles as well, and real life experience that couldn't be manufactured in a dojo.

They circled for a while, staring at one another. Zitao thought how an omega wasn't supposed to take initiative, and so he did. He lunged and took a swing, which Yifan dodged. Zitao expected he would as he spun around and attempted to catch Yifan in the face with his elbow. Yifan caught the elbow strike and shoved it away, putting Zitao off balance. He made a swipe with his leg, but Zitao regained control over his body to jump the movement and put distance between them.

For a while it continued like that: Zitao attacking with a punch or kick, Yifan deflecting, and slowly circling one another again. It might have bothered Zitao that Yifan did not attack him, unless he attacked first. Except it didn't seem an insult or to be because his opponent was an omega. Rather it was Yifan's style to absorb attacks until he found an opening for a decisive strike. He had patience.

Zitao aimed another couple punches at Yifan's face, one the alpha dodged and the other he swatted away. Then he attempted a swinging kick, getting his leg up high so his heel could crash down on his opponent. (He realized he had full confidence Yifan would avoid it, because there was no way not to hurt someone if the hit landed.) He saw Yifan drop and roll under the arch of his leg as it came down. Zitao instantly realized his mistake as his foot hit the ground and his stance was wildly off balance, his middle open and unprotected. Yifan took the opportunity.

There must have been Judo in Yifan's repertoire. He leapt out of his roll and slid in close to Zitao, and the way he grabbed him around the waist was a perfect grappling maneuver. He swung Zitao off his feet and down to the mats, and he didn't cushion the landing. Zitao appreciated that even as the impact of landing on his back knocked all of the air from his lungs and blurred his vision for a second.

By the time he blinked the stars away and coughed air back into his lungs, Yifan was over him with his arms pinned over his head. The alpha knelt astride his thighs as he loomed over with a wicked grin. "You're good, but I believe the match is mine."

He should have conceded, but Zitao didn't feel like it. "No, you just put yourself in an incredibly vulnerable position," he said as he lifted one leg, gently pressing his knee between Yifan's thighs. The alpha was half hard.

Yifan's grin grew. "I figured that particular piece of anatomy is of enough use to you it would be safe."

The expression was infectious and Zitao couldn't help grinning back, feeling remarkably at ease being pinned down. "I have a few weeks before my heat comes again and I have need of it. I'm sure you'll heal in time."

Yifan laughed. "I was hoping you might be interested in it after dinner tonight."

Normally omegas avoided sex for a few days after their heat subsided, but there was something about Yifan. "Maybe," Zitao replied as he rubbed his knee on the alpha's cock through the layers of fabric. Yifan responded by matching the movements with his hips, sliding down Zitao's thigh, and bowing his head like he meant to kiss Zitao again.

"What are you doing?"

They both jerked and Yifan let out a growl as they turned to the sound of the voice. A female alpha stood in the gym's doorway, impeccably dressed in a gray suit with gold buttons. She was older, maybe in her late fifties or early sixties, but in good health, fit, and attractive. She had the same sharp nose as Yifan did. Her long black hair, streaked with gray, was pulled in a tight bun and her makeup gave a natural glow to her features, but also accentuated the disapproving frown she wore.

"Hello, Auntie," Yifan said as he got up, pulling Zitao to his feet in the same movement. "This is Zitao. Zitao, meet my Aunt Ying Yu, matriarch of the Wu family."

Zitao wasn't even allowed a chance to make a good impression. Ying Yu utterly disregarded him and glared at Yifan, speaking over any attempt Zitao might have made in greeting her.

"I am aware of who he is, Yifan. That's why I want to know: What are you doing?"

\--

As always, thanks so much for the comments and kudos!


	13. Chapter 13

"I am aware of who he is, Yifan. That's why I want to know: What are you doing?"

Yifan did not appreciate his aunt's tone, and he narrowed his eyes to let her know it. She might be an elder and family matriarch, but he was head of the Wu family, not her. Ying Yu pursed her lips in a thin line and straightened her already perfect posture, but she didn't voice any further demands for him to justify his actions. He ran a hand along Zitao's arm so the omega would know he had done nothing wrong.

"I was enjoying myself," Yifan answered. "Did you need something? Or is this a social call?" It was never a social call.

Ying Yu smoothed a hand over her hair, as if anything could escape that slicked back bun of hers. "Some rumors have reached me about your recent conduct, and I rushed to confirm them with you." The corner of her mouth twisted as she kept her eyes on him and avoided looking at Zitao. "Though some have already been confirmed." She sighed and plucked a piece of lint from her sleeve, rubbing her fingers together so it fell to the floor. "I need to speak with you, Yifan. Privately," would have been a command to anyone else, but she knew he was already unhappy with her sudden appearance. "If you would."

"All right," Yifan allowed. He didn't particularly want to have this discussion in front of Zitao. "However, you are being rather discourteous. Or perhaps you didn't hear me introduce Zitao."

A muscle in his aunt's jaw twitched at his forcing her to regard the omega, but she slid her gaze to him and plastered on something like a smile. "Hello, Zitao. As Yifan said, I'm Ying Yu, matriarch of the Wu family. It's a shame we have not met formally before." Her gaze slid back to Yifan. "Normally, matters of an omega nature are the purview of the family matriarch, and the family head listens to their wisdom."

Zitao stepping forward to respectfully bow to Ying Yu prevented Yifan from snapping at her. His manners were impeccable. "It's an honor to meet you, matriarch Wu."

There was a short silence where Yifan could have forced polite small talk, but he felt no need to draw this out. "Go to my office, Auntie, I'll meet you up there momentarily," he said, dismissing his aunt. She took it as well as could be expected, false smile vanishing as she spun around. If she had been in her customary stilettos, her turn would have left a gouge in the varnished floorboards.

"This is the first time we've been introduced," Zitao said, staring at the doorway. "I don't know how I offended her."

By not being an alpha, was the likely answer. Ying Yu was as bad as the Zhangs when it came to her attitude of alpha superiority. (She only tolerated interactions with Show Lo, a beta, because Yifan wouldn't hire anyone else.) If an omega wasn't under her, pregnant with a Wu child, or being examined as a prospective Wu mate, she felt no reason to acknowledge their existence.

"My aunt is an alpha from an older generation," Yifan said. "Don't let it bother you."

Zitao frowned, his lips turning downward, still watching the door. "I've seen her a few times before."

"Oh?"

He nodded. "At the Omega House. She goes around from time to time, with one of the alpha administrators making notes for her as she points at us. I don't think I impressed her much those times either." He looked at Yifan. "She chose Luhan?"

That was not particularly something Yifan wanted to discuss, but he felt no need to deflect a direct question. "She recommended him to me, yes. Among others."

"I wonder what I did wrong," Zitao murmured to himself.

Yifan took in Zitao's height and wide shoulders, and the plethora of silver and black piercings in his ears. Those factors alone likely disqualified him, because Ying Yu was looking for some archaic definition of a proper omega. Fortunately, Yifan was not.

He grabbed hold of Zitao's chin and turned the omega to face him. (He liked the slight resistance, showing Zitao had strength to resist, but chose not to do so.) "It doesn't matter what she thinks. I chose you to be here with me," he said, feeling the rush of heat along Zitao's skin. "In this, I assure you, my approval is much more important than my aunt's. No matter what she believes."

Zitao blinked and let out a shivering breath, licking his lips before he spoke. "Then you're really having me stay here? It wasn't just being nice because I was in heat?"

Yifan had been concerned Zitao didn't understand what was going on with the intensity of his heat, and it seemed he'd been correct. "We have some things to discuss, but, yes, you're staying. If you wish." Then he smirked. "I'm not a terribly nice alpha, Zitao."

"You've been nice to meet every time we've met," Zitao said, meeting Yifan's eyes. His dark eyes were beautiful.

"You are a special case."

"I've never been special," he said, a bit shy. "I... like when you say it."

"You've always been special," Yifan replied as he leaned in and pressed his lips to Zitao's. "I should have paid attention to that fact sooner."

Zitao let out a half sigh, half moan as he reminded Yifan, "You have to go see your aunt."

Yifan growled his displeasure at that fact as he let go of Zitao's chin. "We have dinner reservations at six, so I suppose I should go speak with her. Find something to wear in my closet after your workout. Show Lo will have your personal items brought over from the Omega House tomorrow, and he can see about anything you need." He didn't mention Show Lo was supposed to see about suppressant injections. There was a part of him hopeful that Zitao would have a natural reason to be without his heat next time it was supposed to come around. 

"I'll be ready," Zitao said as he ran a hand through his sweat damp hair.

"Good," Yifan said.

Much as he would have preferred to have another match or continue where they left off (or show Zitao improper uses for the training bench), he tore himself way to go and speak with Ying Yu. Yifan stopped in a bathroom to check his appearance, slicking back his hair and straightening the wrinkles in his shirt. Then he continued to his office for an interview he did not wish to conduct.

It was not a good sign when he found Ying Yu pacing his office instead of sitting primly to wait for him. "The chairs are plenty comfortable," he said as he walked around to sit at his desk. He already wanted a  stiff drink. "This is about Zitao, isn't it?"

"Of all the options I have given you," Ying Yu said, jerking around and throwing up her hands. "This is what you do? Unacceptable."

Yifan kept his temper only because it was his aunt. However, he did sit back in his chair and raise an eyebrow to let her know she was at the limit of what he was willing to allow. She inhaled through her nose and sat down on one of the chairs, smoothing the front of her suit jacket and skirt as she cooled her alpha temperament. Much like her brother, Yifan's late alpha father, her temper was especially vicious when she wasn't getting her way. (Yifan could remember her tantrums when he was a child living at the Wu compound, before she was matriarch. The children would hide and the omegas would cry as she stomped around, looking for someone to take her anger out on. Her rage had mellowed considerably since, but it was another reason Zitao would not being living at the Wu compound.)

She exhaled and raised her chin as she met Yifan's eyes, keeping her voice calm. "Yifan, I fully understand and support why you found an omega to accompany you to the Zhang's event the other night. And he," she was carefully not using Zitao's name, "is the sort of omega that attracts the attention of others. For that, you chose well. It was an intelligent way to silence the rumors that you have depraved interests..."

"I'm glad you approve my choices," Yifan said, cutting her off. "You've come to congratulate me? I intend to take _Zitao_ ," he enunciated the name, "as my mate."

"No."

"It's not your choice."

"This is worse than I feared," Ying Yu said, rubbing her forehead. "Worse than I heard."

"I don't like being spied upon," Yifan said, intending to find out who had been reporting on him to his aunt.

"Spies weren't necessary. Your antics at the Omega House weren't subtle," she replied. "Governmental officials were turned away by Wu agents. Were you even thinking?"

"Yes. With my knot, not my head."

She flashed a vicious smile that held no amusement behind it, just cruelty. "He's been _used_ , Yifan. His experience might be enticing, but it's not mate material."

Yifan choked on a snarl. "What do you know about this _use_?"

Ying Yu blinked once and then brushed the matter away with a wave of her hand. "It's common knowledge in the House. It's of no consequence, but the fact remains."

The smile Yifan gave her was all teeth. "Auntie, I have Zitao's former caseworker at the docks and the director of the Omega House is stepping down Sunday," he said. "I am getting the names of all the alphas who were allowed to be with Zitao. I am creating consequences."

She stared at him in the most peculiar way before licking between her lips and glancing down. "A ridiculous waste of resources for one omega. Even so, you should not be involved so personally. You are head of the Wu family. These small matters should be beneath your notice. Delegate these tasks to others to be handled."

"It's not a small matter," Yifan said.

"And pity is not a reason to take this omega as your mate. I have better..."

Yifan was standing and his knuckles stung from slamming his fists down on the desk. His aunt did not flinch, but she held herself tense, her entire body ready to bolt. "It is not pity," he growled. "I have abided your lists for years and found no one. And matriarch or not, it is not your choice. Shouldn't you be pleased I found a mate? You'll get an heir soon enough."

Ying Yu's eyes narrowed and she clenched her hands in her lap. "He's pregnant?"

"It's too early to tell," Yifan said as he straightened and flexed his fingers. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters quite a lot."

This time Yifan dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand. (It was important, and Yifan wanted the answer to be yes, but it could be up to a week after Zitao's heat before he could be tested for pregnancy. And Zitao being pregnant did not influence Yifan's decision on wanting the omega as his mate.) "Other than his use," and Yifan ground out the word, "and your not choosing him, what objections do you have to Zitao?"

"As you seem to appreciate his appearance, I won't comment on it, but his personality is too willful. He'll embarrass you, Yifan."

"He didn't at the Zhang event."

Ying Yu snorted. "From what I hear, he nearly went into heat at the party. And then involved himself in the fight outside."

Despite how angry this was making Yifan, he felt a smirk pull on his lips. He was rather proud and pleased on both those counts. "The first was my doing," he said, remembering how his hand felt on the firm curve of Ziato's ass as the cherry blossom scent grew heavier, "and, if anyone, you should admonish me for being so brazen in public. And the second, he defended himself from the Zhang thugs."

"Omegas should be meek and require protection from their alphas."

"Clearly we have different needs," Yifan said, shaking his head as he sat back down. "This is getting us nowhere. Make preparations for the bonding ceremony."

He was getting ahead of himself. He still hadn't stated his intentions to a clear headed Zitao.

His aunt looked about ready do explode, she was trembling. "It seems you are currently beyond rational thinking about this matter, which I should have known with how I found you. I would have hoped marking and knotting him to get such infatuation out of your system. But I suppose since Luhan left it's been a while since you've had an omega of any sort, and this one's easy nature and wiles might be appealing." She stood up from the chair. "My only hope is you come to your senses before you do any more damage to our family's reputation." Her hands smoothed over her immaculate clothes and hair as her mind sought other ways to change his mind. If she thought she stood a chance, she might have challenged him in a physical altercation to assert her dominance. "You are the Wu family head, so I will do as you say and prepare the ceremony and a place at the Wu compound..."

"Zitao will be living here with me," Yifan said in a tone that warned her not to argue.

Ying Yu inhaled a sharp breath to show displeasure, but continued speaking as if he had not. "Do remember, you can change your mind before the ceremony, before his name is placed in the ancestral books. Even if he becomes pregnant. It would not be the first time the Wu family had to deal with such a scenario." Yifan knew what she meant. The idea was repulsive. "You know, your father took several mates, but he also kept some omegas just for his pleasure. You don't need to mate Zitao if..."

Ying Yu changed her tactics fast at whatever expression crossed over his face. "Have you explained the Wu family to him? He might run away without a word. It would not be the first time that happened, either. Omegas are slaves to carnal bliss, but reality can be harsh."

Most of the time Yifan considered himself a businessman. Sometimes he forgot a good portion of that business was Triad related and not legal. It was the reason he could order caseworkers be taken down to the docks and kept there for days on end. If Zitao lived with him and not at the Wu compound, he wouldn't need to know everything, but he would need to know that attacks from rivals were common and that government officials and reporters were always looking for a chink in the Wu armor.

His aunt managed not to smile at his silence, bowing respectfully instead. "I'll leave you to consider."

Yifan frowned as he watched Ying Yu leave the office.

\---

Sorry I'm a little late on posting. There were some formatting issue to resolve when I was pasting it over. Thanks for your patience!


	14. Chapter 14

Zitao hadn't been completely candid about the extent of the Wu matriarch's activities at the Omega House, and the rumors about how she made omegas disappear.

And he did have an idea of how he offended her.

Ying Yu, and he honestly hadn't known her name or even that she was part of the Wu family, came around ever few months. Just like he told Yifan, she walked around with one of the scant few alpha administrators (and Zitao found it odd since there were more beta admins, and overall they were more knowledgeable, but now he guessed being near a beta must have offended her alpha sensibilities) at the House, and seemed to rate them all. They had never been introduced formally, or he would have known her name, but he had had one interaction with her.

It was a few years ago, he'd been sitting on a couch in the rec room with Liyin when Ying Yu came in doing whatever it was she did. (He never believed she really made omegas disappear. It had to be one of the many stories that were circulated to keep them in line.) He remembered the jasmine scent of her because it was soft and subtle in a way she clearly was not. That day was crisp in his memory; it was the first time he was ever forcibly grabbed by an alpha.

She walked over and seized him by the chin without warning, without a word, yanked his head one way and then the other. He hadn't been scared, simply too shocked to do anything but let her. His piercings (and he only had two then) made her scowl. Her hand firm on his chin, finger pressing hard enough to bruise, she turned to the alpha administrator and demanded to know why they didn't keep better control over the omegas in their care that this one had been allowed to mutilate himself. That shook him out of his shock and Zitao slapped her hand away before he could be concerned by the possible consequences.

There had been gasps all around the rec room as she turned back and looked at him like she could see through him, like he was nothing. Then she turned on her heels and left.

Today she looked at him (when Yifan forced her to acknowledge him) like he was less than nothing.

Zitao exhaled as he stripped off Yifan's black shirt and went over to the treadmill for a cool down. He tried not to think about how Ying Yu was upstairs at that very moment trying to convince Yifan the err of his ways. It didn't really scare him. Unless she outright lied, everything uncomplimentary about him as an omega was on display. Muscles, height, martial training, piercings, his awful heat: all of it Yifan already knew. If Yifan chose to send him away, it was because he had reservations already, not because his aunt convinced him of something.

That thought did scare Zitao.

He finished his workout and wiped down the equipment, picking up the discarded shirt as he went upstairs. He caught a scent of jasmine in the entryway when he passed, but it was impossible to know if it was left from the Wu matriarch's coming or going. He hurried to Yifan's bedroom just in case.

Their clothes were still all over the floor from last night. He gathered everything to put in a pile, adding the clothes he'd been wearing to it. He felt a bit guilty for getting Yifan's nice clothing sweaty, and flushed because the fact his clothes were a bit sweaty seemed to be the last thing on Yifan's mind earlier.

Zitao had just gotten into the shower and rinsed his hair when he heard someone in the bathroom. He slid open the shower door and found Yifan, looking a bit distracted. "Am I running late?" he asked. He wasn't great at keeping track of time, but he thought he left himself more than enough for a shower.

"No," Yifan said as he pulled at the buttons on his shirt. "Mind if I join you?"

Zitao gave what he hoped was a come hither smile. (Jia told him his smile was a little lopsided when he was actually happy.) He left the shower door ajar and attempted to quickly wash off the worst of the sweat while Yifan removed his clothes.

The shower door slid shut with a click behind him and Zitao expected them to pick up where they left off. Instead, Yifan took hold of his arm and pulled him around so they were facing, hot water splashing against Zitao's back. He stared deep into Zitao's eyes, making Zitao's stomach churn in nervous delight, as he ran his fingers lightly over Zitao's cheek. Then caressed gently down to the tender mark on Zitao's neck, drawing a slow circle around it. The sensation stirred Zitao almost as much as the intensity of the alpha's eyes.

Yifan's hand slid to the back of Zitao's neck and drew him close, kissing him deeply. Zitao melted into him as he let his hands stroke over Yifan, discovering the planes of his chest and the contours of his muscles. (The first time he had been too excited and all the others he'd been in heat. He'd never really had the chance to explore Yifan's body and to fully appreciate.) He felt the alpha's smile as he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue between Zitao's lips. There was such a soft intimacy to all, Zitao shivered as Yifan's hands started moving over his body, as if he were memorizing it.

"You're soft over those hard muscles," Yifan murmured, nipping Zitao's bottom lip.

"I take care of my skin," Zitao replied inanely as he pulled his lip from between Yifan's teeth and kissed him again.

Zitao wasn't sure how long they stayed in the shower before Yifan took them back to his bed. Yifan kept kissing him as their bodies rolled together between the sheets, slick bodies and hard cocks rubbing in counter tempo. Zitao kept expecting Yifan to want to be inside him, but the alpha just seemed to want to be with him.

They came within minutes of one another. Zitao first, but he refused to go limp with the pleasure of his orgasm. He locked his limbs around Yifan and went on grinding and kissing his alpha until he felt Yifan come as well. Yifan kissed over his mark, grazing his teeth like a promise to sink them in again once the skin healed.

Yifan got out of bed to find a towel to wipe them down, which Zitao appreciated. He hated being sticky. He was such a mess during his heat, and it felt nice having Yifan take care of him, too. Before he rejoined Zitao in bed the alpha found his phone and sent a message to Show Lo to change their reservations to another night and have something ordered to the penthouse for dinner.

The afterglow was nice as they lay in quiet, Zitao draped over Yifan, his head on the alpha's chest. He ran his fingers lightly over Yifan's skin. He'd found a handful of scars on his alpha's powerful body. He idly traced a faded collection of lines on Yifan's forearm.

"How did you get these?" he asked as he followed one that went over the wrist to Yifan's thumb.

"Do you really want to know?"

There was something in the alpha's tone that made Zitao lift his head and meet Yifan's eyes. He froze. "Is it wrong of me to ask?"

Yifan's expression softened as he lifted a hand to comb hair away from Zitao's eyes. "Of course not. Ask if you wish to know. Just understand they're not all good stories."

Zitao caught Yifan's arm and drew it to his lips, pressing them against one of the long, faded lines. "I want to know all about you," he said, flushing at how silly and needy it sounded.

There was a soft hum from the alpha before he pulled his arm away to tuck Zitao's head back against his chest, lightly stroking his hair. "These were from when I was fifteen and snuck out of the Wu compound with some of my older cousins. Qian was the ringleader."

"Really?"

Yifan let out a snort as his hand settled comfortably against Zitao's nape. "She's three years older than me, but she has a naturally sweeter expression so no one suspects her of anything. She was always getting her misdeeds blamed on me," he said, but didn't sound terribly upset. "That night she decided she was going to teach me how to drive, since I was to be head of the family and still hadn't learned. But we couldn't take one of the family cars, so we stole one. The scars are from breaking a window. The cuts weren't even bad, but they never got properly treated since we had to hide we'd snuck out."

"Was it fun?" Zitao asked, smiling at the idea of Yifan on a joyride.

"Very. Qian's idea of driving is a lot more exciting than the bodyguards that taught me later." Yifan's hand slid down from Zitao's neck, skimming along his spine, and up again. "Did you ever sneak out?"

Zitao almost said no. Because, of course, an omega would never leave the Omega House without permission and run off unattended. Or so alphas in general liked to imagine. "A few times," he admitted as he slid his fingers over Yifan's ribs. "It started because Luhan," and he stopped, not wanting to have mentioned the other omega and give Yifan reason for comparing them. But he had, so he went on. "Well, since he wanted to do more than the mandatory education provided at the Omega House, he went to classes other places. One night Jia and I went along with him to the library, just to be out of the House. Somehow we stayed out past curfew and had to figure out how to get inside before they did a bed check." Being out after curfew without permission or supervision got pretty much every privilege taken away. "We found a part of the wall behind the dojo that was overgrown, that I could climb and pull them up. Later we realized we could get out the same way."

"What did you do when you went out?"

"Did things like see festivals, mostly. Once we stole money from an administrator we all hated and bought a bunch of snacks at food stalls." Zitao smiled a bit at the memory. His hand slid lower along Yifan's abdomen, finding a scar just above his hip. "What's this one from?"

"I had my appendix taken out a couple years ago."

"That's boring," slipped out before Zitao could catch himself.

Yifan chuckled. "Oh, it was anything but. The damn thing nearly burst on me. Though, as a story, I suppose it is rather dull."

Zitao shifted, sliding his body to settle on the other side of Yifan. There was a scar on the arm he'd been resting on he noticed in the shower when he was mapping Zitao's bicep. He stroked a finger along Yifan's collarbone as he rested his cheek on the alpha's right shoulder, making his way to the arm and the scar.

"How about this one?" he asked.

Yifan stilled, a preternatural stillness that frightened Zitao. "That is from the first time I challenged my alpha-father," he said in a flat, neutral tone. Zitao didn't need to ask if he'd won. The answer was no.

There was a sudden chill in the bedroom and Zitao didn't know what to do as he let his hand rest on Yifan's elbow. He hardly breathed. Then Yifan let out a long sigh, one arm wrapping Zitao in a hug as he laid a kiss on the top of Zitao's head. "I was nine or ten. I had a temper, but no chance against an alpha more than thirty years older. My alpha-father acted like he was teaching me a lesson about making challenges I couldn't win. He wanted me to submit and apologize, but I was stubborn and refused. So he held me down and kept twisting my arm until it broke and I passed out. The scar is where the bone stuck out."

"Why?" Zitao asked as he hid his face against Yifan's neck, inhaling sandalwood and rain to calm himself.

"Did I challenge him? Because I hated how he was treating my omega-father," he said, bitterly. "I only made it worse."

"You were a kid and he broke your arm," Zitao said, biting the inside of his cheek.

"He did."

They lay in silence as Zitao shivered, idly stroking the skin beneath the scar. "Would you... would you discipline your own children like that?"

Yifan squeezed him close. "I would never give my children cause to challenge me over the treatment of their omega parent. And, no, I wouldn't. It wasn't discipline, it was just his awful temper at my being willful." Zitao could feel Yifan looking at him. "Did you imagine I would?"

Zitao shook his head, feeling relieved to hear it. "Not really. Which is fortunate, no doubt your children will be willful."

"I imagine yours will be too."

He licked his lips at the idea of them being the same willful children. And he liked the plural: children. He'd always dreamed of having three or four of his own. It was the one orthodox omega impulse he possessed. "I know you have cousins. Do you have any siblings?"

Yifan shook his head. "I'm told there was a stillborn child before me, but no. No siblings. Of my cousins, Qian is as close as I have in the Wu family, and I have a chosen blood brother in the Zhangs."

"I didn't think you got along with the Zhang family?" Zitao said, lifting his head.

One corner of Yifan's mouth quirked up in a smirk. "The relationship between our families is ever changing as a river and incredibly difficult to define. Right now, we don't agree on a lot. It would be better if Yixing hadn't left."

"Yixing is the blood brother?"

Yifan nodded. "He is. He was supposed to become head of the Zhang, but he refuses to come back from Seoul and declared no interested in the succession." The smirk had become a half smile. "That's even more complicated. He has certain preferences that don't align with the Zhang's alpha-centric philosophy."

"Mm."

The smile faded from Yifan's lips. "Today my aunt made it clear," he began, and Zitao tensed, "I should make sure you are aware of the Wu family dynamic."

Zitao twisted from the embrace of Yifan's arm and rolled on top of him, crossing his arms over Yifan's chest to stare down at his handsome face. "I don't know much about family. I never had one."

There was a lusty flash in Yifan's eyes as he slid his hands along Zitao's sides, like he meant to change that. "The Wus are more difficult than most. The Wu family exists as two entities, and I am head of both, to add to the confusion. The first are the Wus who share the name and blood. Myself, my aunt Ying Yu, a couple uncles, and seven cousins. Qian is acknowledged as a Wu, even if she does not use the name. There are also a handful of distant relations and Wus by mating. We hold the majority shares in a diverse selection of national and international businesses and hold a place of prestige here in Hong Kong." He had a certain note of pride in his voice, even as it all came out as fact. "That is the legitimate Wu family. Then there is the unrelated Wu family that does business with the Zhangs..."

"Triad stuff," Zitao filled in.

Yifan flashed him a look and he flushed. Alphas liked to explain things, he should have kept his mouth shut. "What do you know about the Triad?"

Zitao suddenly wished he weren't on top of Yifan, unable to hide. "Not much. But I'm an omega. No one bothers to keep secrets around us, and we gossip because we know we're the only ones who will listen to one another." The look Yifan was giving him told him to go on. "Higher ups in the Wu family come into the Omega House sometimes, and some of them like to brag about their importance or how they were promoted within the organization. Or things," and he did not elucidate on that, "they've done. They're proud of being Triad and the family they're in. The Wu alphas have Gate of Heavens tattoos and Zhang alphas have archers."

Yifan didn't look entirely happy, his lips curved downward, but Zitao didn't feel the displeasure was at him. "You have an idea of it, then. That is the second Wu family. Mostly unrelated and not bearing the Wu name. People who attend on the less than legitimate interests, underworld matters."

"How come you don't have a tattoo?"

"The tattoos are marks of induction to the Wu family," Yifan said. "I have that by blood and authority."

Zitao nodded because it made a certain sort of sense. He wondered if he would have to get a tattoo to stay by Yifan's side. Some mark to show he belonged. "Does it bother you?" Yifan asked, distracting Zitao from the thoughts. "The Triad side of the Wu family."

"No," Zitao answered simply.

Yifan looked doubtful. "Even if I've committed heinous crimes?" he asked as he settled his arms around Zitao's waist, keeping him from getting away. Not that Zitao had intended any escape.

"Have you?" Zitao asked curiously.

"Crimes, yes," he admitted. "I don't know if I would count any of them as heinous."

Zitao licked between his lips. "I feel like you're trying to scare me. Do you want me to be scared?"

Yifan shook his head as he pulled Zitao down into a kiss. "No. I'd prefer you never to be scared by me," he said, and kissed Zitao again, longer this time, his tongue sliding along Zitao's upper lip. His voice was softer when he spoke again. "But you need to know the reality of the kind of alpha I am and the world in which I live. You need to know the danger if you choose to live in that world with me."

Zitao moaned as he pressed his lips to Yifan's. "This is worth it."

\---

Uh oh, looks like the next couple chapters will be a bit plot heavy. LoL! Thanks again to everyone who leaves comments, kudos, and bookmark! I much appreciate it! 


	15. Chapter 15

Yifan hadn't intended to be absent from work another two days, but it was difficult for him to leave Zitao.

The only reason he managed successfully today was wanting to give the omega a chance to settle into the penthouse on his own, without alpha interference. Not that Yifan had tried to prevent his doing anything intentionally, but he found he naturally gravitated to wherever Zitao was. In the gym or the kitchen (Zitao liked to eat, fresh fruit in particular) or the bedroom or the home theater, which Yifan didn't think he'd used before. Sometimes they just made out, as Zitao had definitely picked up the finer intricacies of kissing. Or they would talk or spar or sit together. Yifan never knew he could enjoy just sitting with someone.

This morning he'd woken up to the omega lying on top of the covers in only boxer shorts and sweaty from his morning stretches. (So far the only mildly unlikable thing about Zitao was he was a morning person. Left to his own devices he woke up at five a.m. to do a regiment of stretches. Though, if that was the worst of it, Yifan supposed he could learn to find it charming. It was hard not to when Zitao came back to bed by six-thirty to ply him awake with kisses and slices of oranges, peaches, or whatever he'd found in the kitchen.) He'd laid there pulling apart a tangerine and smiling with such delicious indulgence as Yifan (possibly for the first time in his life) bemoaned needing to get up and go to to his office.

"I was thinking I'd like to get an industrial piercing," Zitao said rather randomly, licking tangerine juice off his fingers.

"In which ear?" Yifan asked, hearing the test in Zitao's tone.

"Left, probably."

Yifan reached out and tapped Zitao's chin so he turned his head and Yifan could look at the ear with two silver studs in the lobe, a silver orbital, and a black inner conch piercing. "It would look good in black. There's a lot of silver on that side," he said as he ran his knuckles along Zitao's jaw. "Or maybe platinum."

"Platinum is expensive," Zitao said, lifting his gaze to Yifan's. Whatever the test was, his smile said Yifan passed.

Somehow Yifan resisted temptation and got ready for work, Zitao helping him with his tie, even though he was quite capable of doing it himself. Zitao kissed him on the way out, which nearly undid his resolve; but he was not going to send his car and bodyguards away for a third day. Besides, Show Lo texted last night he had something of importance he needed Yifan to see, and he didn't want to bring it to the penthouse.

Qian was already waiting in the lobby of the office building when Yifan arrived, whispering something in Cao Lu's ear. His cousin smirked at the sight of him. "Your glow is blinding, Yifan. If this is how you're going to be with Zitao about, make sure you keep him happy so he stays." She glanced around him at his twin bodyguards, Dalong and Xiaolong, and frowned. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Settling in," Yifan said as the five of them got on the elevator. "His personal items were brought the other day."

"And you've been underfoot not letting him unpack," she said with a grin, enjoying tormenting him too much. Had he been such a pain Qian found her made? If he was honest, yes, he had been. "Be careful, cousin. I let this one," and she inclined her head affectionately toward Cao Lu, "have too much leeway in my apartment. She hired a Feng Sui expert and had the entire place rearranged. Now I have to exclusively sleep on the right side of the bed."

"You already slept on the right side of the bed," Cao Lu said, shaking her head.

"But now I have to for the sake of our spiritual harmony."

"How do you put up with her?" Yifan asked Cao Lu.

"I have long, talented fingers," Qian said, letting out an 'oof' when Cao Lu elbowed her hard in the side.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out on the top floor, walking down the hall to Yifan's corner office. Qian had an office the opposite direction, but when she had a habit of haunting other people rather than being in it. Officially she was in charge of the Wu family's public relations department, and she was good at the job. Cao Lu was her most effective operative. Most alphas decided Qian brought her to work because she disliked leaving her mate. They foolishly had it in their heads, since Cao Lu was an omega, she would be flustered if any alpha spoke to her and accidentally leak information. It meant Cao Lu was quite good at disseminating false information and starting rumors that showed the Wu family in a positive light. Yifan hoped he and Zitao could find such a good fit.

Outside of Yifan's office was a waiting area where Show Lo's desk sat, like a guard post across from several decorative potted plants and a pair of ostentatious designer couches that were ridiculously uncomfortable. (No need for anyone Yifan chose to keep waiting outside his office to be overly comfortable.)

It was Cao Lu who noticed something was amiss. She came to an abrupt stop, grabbing hold of Qian's arm.

Yifan's bodyguards were instantly inaction, scanning the area, checking the shadows and looking for unopened packages. (There had been a mail bomb a few months ago.) Qian pulled her mate to her as she frowned, her gaze searching for whatever had worried Cao Lu.

"What is it?" Yifan asked, seeing no threat, but unwilling to dismiss the omega's finely tuned sense of danger.

"Where's Show Lo?" she asked with a nod to the empty desk.

That was something Yifan should have questioned himself. Show Lo was always on time. He arrived at least an hour before Yifan, unless Yifan had him attending to some specific task or another. Yifan scowled as he motioned for Dalong to see if the secretary was inside his office. The office door was still locked and no one was inside when Dalong did a thorough inspection.

"Have either of you heard from him?" he asked the bodyguards.

"No, sir," both of them answered in unison.

Yifan walked over to Show Lo's desk and his frown deepened. Someone had straightened it up to look presentable, innocuous. The computer monitor was off and all the papers were in neat piles, not a thing out of place. But Show Lo never left anything out on his desk unattended. He always locked all his paperwork in the drawers before he left, even inconsequential items. He rounded the desk and narrowed his eyes further. The monitor was still there, but Show Lo's computer was gone. Yifan pulled out his phone and called his secretary; it went straight to voicemail.

"Find him," Yifan said to his bodyguards. "Now."

Dalong and Xiaolong bowed their heads and hurried to do as they were told.

"Think it's the Zhangs making trouble again?" Qian asked as she followed Yifan into his office, her arm around Cao Lu. "They have been overtly aggressive as of late. There was that attack at the museum."

Yifan made a dismissive wave of his hand as he sat down at his desk. "I'd hardly call using a subsidiary group, so they could deny involvement, overt," he said as he idly ran a hand over his tie. The memory of Zitao helping him put it on cooled his temper a touch. "Going after my private secretary would be a direct challenge to me. Even with the succession mess, no one in the Zhangs is going to cross the Wu family so blatantly."

"I wouldn't say no one, but they wouldn't have a lot of backing," Qian agreed as she sauntered over to the windows.

Cao Lu sat on the leather couch (far more comfortable than the one in the outer area) and slipped off her shoes to curl her legs under her. "Maybe Show Lo's sick. You alphas don't have to worry about colds as much, but us omegas and betas do."

"He would have called," Qian said.

Yifan nodded in agreement. "You couldn't see, but his computer was missing from under the desk."

Qian turned away from the view in a sharp movement. "That would mean someone was in our building," she said in almost a growl. "That's a whole other problem."

He couldn't disagree as he took out his phone. "Check to make sure there have been no security concerns at the Wu compound."

"I'm sure I'd have heard about it," Qian said, even as she started sending texts.

Yifan did as well, to the head of security at his building. If someone was brazen enough to come into his office and go after his secretary, it stood to reason they would be brazen enough to go into his home. The idea of someone going in and doing anything to Zitao, even just startling him before he punched them in the face, made Yifan's blood boil. He ordered security not to let anyone into his penthouse without getting authorization from him first.

Over an hour passed while he and Qian confirmed there were no other security breaches in legal or extralegal Wu holdings, shored up security measures, and checked on all their blood relations. Ying Yu avoided his call and had one of her minions answer. That suited Yifan. He was able to verify his aunt was breathing and not have another interminable conversation with her.

Qian had the sense to have someone from the secretarial pool sent up to answer the phone and turn away anyone who came looking for a meeting. Other than a conference call, Yifan's schedule for the day was light. Either Show Lo hadn't believed him capable of leaving Zitao for a few hours to come to work or he wanted flexibility for how Yifan reacted to whatever information he had. Yifan scowled at himself. He should have come in last night if Show Lo thought it was important. That was stupid and irresponsible of him.

His phone rang with Dalong's number flashing on the screen. "Well?" he snapped.

"Sorry to bother you, sir." Dalong sounded irritated. "I need to confirm Show Lo wasn't dismissed. Correct?"

"Would I have sent you to find him if I fired him?" Yifan demanded, getting Qian and Cao Lu's attention. "Why?"

He didn't get an answer right away. Dalong snarled at someone that he had confirmed Show Lo wasn't dismissed from his position, and if whoever he was speaking to didn't believe him, it was their prerogative to go up and talk to Yifan Wu in person, but he did not think it would end well. "Sorry, sir," Dalong said after a moment. "It seems building security was informed Show Lo had been dismissed and they were ordered to detain him."

"On who's authority?" Yifan asked. Qian had wandered over and was leaning in to eavesdrop.

Dalong hesitated a breath, which meant he had no answers. "We don't know yet. The guards on duty got their orders from the night shift crew they took over from. They were told to keep Show Lo in detainment and not listen to anything he had to say. We haven't been able to get a hold of the night supervisor."

"Find out what happened and who was involved, and get Show Lo up here."

"Yes, sir."

"Did they hurt him?" Qian whispered in his ear.

"He is in a state to be brought up here, isn't he?" Yifan asked, displeased to think otherwise.

"He's..." Dalong trailed off as Show Lo shouted in the background. "Xiaolong with have him up shortly, sir."

"Show Lo's your right hand," Qian said as Yifan ended the call. "Who would have authority over him?"

"And why would anyone go after Show Lo?" Cao Lu asked with a tight frown.

Yifan rubbed his forehead. The list of possibilities was very short. Himself, Qian, and most the blood related Wu would, on paper, have the clout to have Show Lo removed. But it was hard to imagine any of his cousins would bother. The ones that worked knew Show Lo's quality, and those who idled their lives away depended on Show Lo to regularly cut checks for their allowance. Some of his uncles might not approve of a beta in a position of power, but they all knew to challenge Show Lo's appointment was to challenge Yifan.

"Auntie didn't want to talk to you," Qian said as she sat on the edge of his desk. "She's pretty upset about Zitao."

Yifan sat back in his chair. He felt more relieved than he liked to admit when he heard Show Lo's voice. "I won't deny our aunt is petty enough to do it, but she always has purpose behind her malice," he said. "This does nothing to make me want Zitao any less."

Qian crossed her arms and nodded in agreement. "Well, hopefully Show Lo can shed some light on the situation," she said.

It took considerably longer than it should have for Show Lo to get from the security office to Yifan's office. Though, if his appearance was any indication, he must have stopped on the way to attempt and clean himself up. His hair had been slicked away from his face with water, strands already falling out of place. It drew attention to the nasty bruise spreading along the left side of his jaw. He'd straightened his clothes, but there were a few dark splotches on his shirt that were probably blood, likely from a nosebleed.

Cao Lu hopped up from the couch to pull a chair over and sit Show Lo down as Xiaolong set what appeared to be the remains of Show Lo's phone on the desk. Someone had stomped on it. Repeatedly. It explained why the secretary hadn't called or answered.

"What happened?" Yifan asked.

Show Lo rolled his eyes as he relaxed into the chair. "I was working late. Four alpha security guards came up and informed me I had been let go, and they needed to take me to detainment while someone checked into if I was committing corporate espionage or something. I think they actually said or something. They did that to my phone," he motioned to the trampled bit of technology, "when I said I was going to call and confirm with you. They were ransacking my desk while I was being dragged off, and got testy when I asked to talk to the real head of security, not the night supervisor."

Yifan didn't like having to ask the next question. But sometimes alphas took out their aggression on betas, especially a beta like Show Lo who seemed suddenly to have no authority over them. There would be serious repercussions if Show Lo had been violated. That was not how Yifan did business and he expected better of the alphas he employed. (He'd ended the prostitution rings when he took over from his alpha-father and made it very, very clear rape was not acceptable. But there were still alphas he needed to weed out who thought omegas were good for only one thing and betas needed to be taught their place.) "Did they get out of hand with you?" he asked as subtly as possible, but Cao Lu still stiffened. Qian gave her mate an apologetic look.

"No. Once they locked me up it was an incredibly boring night."

Everyone in the room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at that. Xiaolong's hand was on the back of Show Lo's chair, and Yifan didn't miss how he moved a finger to gently stroke the back of Show Lo's neck. (He wasn't oblivious his bodyguards were fond of his secretary, but didn't feel a need to know how fond, so long as everyone continued doing their jobs.)

"They took your desk computer," Yifan said.

"They should have taken my phone to hack," Show Lo said, looking mournfully at it. "They're going to be disappointed."

"Why?" Qian asked.

"I only use the desktop to play League of Legends," he answered with a shrug.

Qian pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered 'of course' as Yifan smirked. There was a reason he hadn't been overly concerned about the computer being taken. Show Lo did most of his computer work on a laptop he carried with him or left locked in Yifan's desk, and Yifan had already found it.

"Do you know who did this and why?" Yifan asked, letting the brief amusement go.

Show Lo pursed his lips, then shook his head. "Not concretely enough to make accusations. Though I assume it has to do with the matter I wanted to go over with you today. I've been working to get a full report together on the situation at the Omega House, as you requested." He paused for Yifan to nod it was okay to proceed with the people who were in the room. "We have Zitao's caseworker, Mr. Li, at the warehouse, and he's given us a fair amount of information, but not all of it, I suspect. You also requested a list of alphas, and Wu agents have been able to find his hidden bank accounts and confirm he's been accepting payments to provide undocumented alphas access to the omegas in his care. But after that, our agents hit a wall."

He shifted in his chair. "I was told repeatedly the payments into his account were untraceable. So I hired outside help, and neither of the specialists had any trouble pinning down the accounts or hacking them for further information. They compiled names for me and also found that most of the paying accounts had regular deposit from...." Show Lo seemed to have something more, but changed his mind. "There was something I noticed rather quickly about the names they gave me. Though, there are some discrepancies, of course. And I still haven't had a chance to investigate more or confront Zitao's cas... Mr. Li, with the information. But after a week in Wu custody I'm sure he..."

"Show Lo, you're rambling," Yifan said, furrowing his brow.

The beta paused and nodded. "It might be better if you look at the list yourself. My laptop should be in your desk, and my preliminary findings are in a file on the desktop."

Normally, Show Lo had no difficulty giving him bad news. Qian leaned on the back of his chair as he took out the laptop, opened it, and found the file. He glanced through a list of names and a myriad of bank accounts connected to a singular bank account, and felt his mood turn black. His expression must have been terrifying, because Cao Lu retreated behind the couch.

"Fuck," Qian swore under her breath.

Yifan lifted his gaze from the computer and pinned it on Show Lo. "The majority of these names are Wu alphas," he said as Qian added, "And a couple high level Zhangs."

Show Lo slumped in the chair under Yifan's glare. "That was what I noticed as well. I believe it's why Wu agents were suddenly unable to help with my investigation, and probably why I was detained."

Yifan snarled as he looked at the names, at all the alphas from his own family organization that had been with Zitao, _with his Zitao_. He wanted to strangle every one. He felt sick at the memory of Zitao talking so blithely about the Wu and Zhang tattoos. That should have been a clue. Qian reached over his shoulder and pointed at several accounts that had been paid into from the one account.

"What is this account?" she asked, reading off the number to Show Lo. "That middle sequence mean its out of one of our banks, right?"

The secretary nodded and swallowed hard. "I didn't recognize it, but after some research, it appears to be one of the larger slush funds left by the previous head of the Wu family." Yifan's alpha-father had expected to need to do a lot of bribery a few years before his death, but most of that money was never used. "There was no activity on the account before two years ago, and then it started being used frequently."

Yifan grit his teeth so hard they squeaked as he noticed another connection between the names. The alphas were all favorites of Ying Yu, all her particular little minions, including the night supervisor Dalong said they couldn't contact.

"Who has been using the funds?" Yifan demanded.

"I don't know," Show Lo said. "But the only people authorized, who are still alive, are your two uncles and aunt. And you, of course."

No wonder his aunt was so fucking vocal on Zitao's 'use.'

"You think Mr. Li," and Yifan nearly spat the name as he slammed his hand on the desk and stood up. Qian had to jump to avoid his chair rolling back. "Knows more?"

"I'm almost positive he does," Show Lo said, looking up at Xiaolong as Yifan started moving. "You should have his car brought around."

\---

Thanks to everyone reading! ^_^


	16. Chapter 16

Zitao wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself in the penthouse without Yifan around.

He'd worked out, showered, watched a movie, eaten lunch, napped, explored the penthouse further, and hung up his clothes in a guest room. He intended to hang them in Yifan's closet at first, but everything was so perfectly placed it intimidated him. Having his own place where he could be a little less neat didn't seem a bad idea. And Yifan had told him to use whatever space (except for the home office) he wished for himself.

Currently, Zitao was lying on one of the leather couches in the living room and staring out at the Hong Kong sky. The skyscrapers were impressive, but not nearly as pretty in the daylight as at night. (Though, his first view of the night sky from Yifan's penthouse had been pressed up against the window with the alpha behind him. So he felt a certain fondness toward that view and how it made him feel.) He sighed as he rolled off the couch and onto his feet.

The penthouse was objectively large, but he hadn't realized it would be quite so lonely without Yifan. Of course his alpha (and he still felt anxious that maybe he shouldn't be thinking of Yifan as his) needed to go to work. He was an important person, head of the Wu family. Zitao had been tempted to ask if he could go with Yifan, promise he would never embarrass him. But Yifan seemed to want him to stay, so he hadn't.

He rotated his shoulder to loosen it as he wandered back to the guest room where he stashed his clothes. The one he'd chosen was in the same hall as Yifan's bedroom, and it had a big window. Zitao never had a window in his room before, none of the bedrooms at the Omega House had windows, and he liked the warm sunlight streaming in. He flopped on his stomach across the king size bed and reached for a cellphone on the nightstand; another thing he never had before. Show Lo gave it to him when he delivered the clothes, but Zitao had been too busy playing with Yifan to play with the phone until now.

Omegas weren't allowed to have cellphones at the House. Zitao never considered it odd or unfair, since pretty much all the people he would want to talk to lived in the Omega House with him. They could use the phone in the office any time they wished. (Luhan's caseworker, who was cheerful and always meant to be helpful, once explained they had once let omegas have phones on a trial basis. But alphas got a hold of the numbers and made obscene calls or sent inappropriate pictures, and none of the omegas had wanted to keep the phones after.)

Zitao fussed with the phone. He figured out how the camera worked and took some selfies, which amused him for a little while. The he found the contacts and discovered the only number was his own; though he did get to add one of his better selfies as a profile picture. He'd ask for Yifan's number when the alpha came home later tonight.

The idea sent a nervous flutter through him. It seemed kind of intimate to ask for Yifan's number, but that uncertain part of his mind had to wonder if Yifan would give it to him. Zitao liked to think he would. But maybe he wouldn't feel like having Zitao bother him at random moments. (If Zitao had Yifan's number, he would have sent the alpha at least four selfies he thought looked best without a thought. Would Yifan find that annoying?)

Zitao shoved the worry aside as he called the only number he knew by heart.

"Hong Kong East Omega House, Meiren speaking. How may I direct your call?"

The sound of Meiren's professional phone voice made him momentarily homesick. She was one of the low level betas at the front desk who made sure everyone signed in and out and answered the phones. But most of her day she spent talking in her normal pitch (a good two decibels higher) and gossiping with the omegas and sneaking in books and magazines they technically weren't supposed to be reading. 

"Hi Meiren," he said. "It's Zitao. Can I talk to Jia?"

He honestly didn't remember much of what happened when he left the Omega House with Yifan, like if he had said anything to his best friend. (Given his state, he doubted it.) Show Lo told him the whole incident would probably go down as a legend, and that several of the omegas asked after him when he picked up Zitao's clothes. Today he found a note from Jia hidden in the back pocket of a pair of jeans saying he should call her, she was worried.

"Z-Zitao?" Meiren stuttered, her voice going up a notch in surprise. "Oh, I, um, we didn't expect you to call."

Zitao had never heard such a nervous sound from Meiren. Not even that time when her alpha supervisor was yelling at her for making personal calls while on the clock. "Why not?" he asked.

There was a long pause. "Oh. No reason, really. S-someone had asked if you would and... um, well, most omegas don't call right after they've been mated, which is what we told them, and, well..." She was talking fast now, stumbling over her words. "So, no one thought you would, since you would be busy. I mean, how is it? Being mated?"

He should have been more concerned about why Meiren was rambling, but he blushed instead. "I haven't exactly been mated," he muttered. Not yet, at least. He did have a hope Yifan would formally ask him. After all, Yifan had done just about everything else an alpha classically (Luhan would have said archaically) did when claiming a mate: bitten him, knotted him, took him home. He'd like to be Yifan's mate, to always be near that scent of sandalwood and rain.

"Can I talk to Jia?" Zitao asked again.

There was another long pause where Zitao thought he heard someone speaking in a low voice in the background, but he could have been mistaken. "I'm sorry," Meiren said, her voice sounding straining. "Jia's been hiding in her room and won't come out for anyone."

That had Zitao's full attention. Jia hated staying in her room. "Is she sick?"

"No," Meiren said slowly, drawing the word out. "Not sick. She's been... depressed since you left. Because, uh, she's not sure if you're okay or not. That beta from the _Wu family_ said you were, but we all kind of agreed he wouldn't tell us if you were _tied up_ or something." She coughed. "I mean, you did leave like you were _taken_." She was putting all sort of odd emphasis to her words before there was a thump in the background and she hastened on. "M-maybe you could come see Jia, like, today. I'm sure... I'm positive it would make her happy. It would do her good if you came here, soon as possible."

"Is something going on?" Zitao asked. He'd admit to being a little oblivious, but he wasn't stupid.

"No, no. Just hoping you'll come see Jia. Now."

"Yi... Mr. Wu isn't here right now," Zitao said, realizing he hadn't asked when Yifan would be back. "I can't just leave."

"I'm sure _Mr. Wu_ will understand," Meiren said, and there was another sound in the background. "Just f-for a minute."

"Meiren, what's going on?"

This time Zitao was sure he heard a voice. "Nothing. I'm just worried about Jia," she said. "And I-I should go. I have an alpha breathing down my neck about personal calls at work. But you should come see Jia, soon. And come before six, since I get off shift and you should see me, too."

She hung up before Zitao could point out answering his call was her job, he'd called the House.

Zitao stared down at the phone. What was going on? Was Jia really that depressed about him? He kind of doubted it, even if he was sure she was worried like her note said. Jia got upset and sad, but she didn't get depressed. But what might happen if he didn't go and see her soon? Meiren sounded so panicked, and the voice in the background was not one of the alphas Zitao knew. And why didn't he have a number for Yifan _now_?

The last thought nearly made him throw his phone at a wall, but he took a few breaths and controlled his anger, focused it into purpose. Yifan's number obviously was not published on the internet for anyone to find, but Zitao did locate a number for the Wu main office.

Not that it did him much good.

"I need to talk to Yifan Wu," he said to the person who answered the phone.

The receptionist spoke as if he'd given his response a hundred times, possibly just that day. "I'm sorry. Mr. Wu is a very busy person. All calls must go through his personal secretary."

"Then let me talk to Show Lo," Zitao said, not appreciating the person's dismissive tone.

"He isn't responding right now. Would you like me to take a message?"

Zitao had been disregarded enough to know any message he left would never reach Show Lo, let alone Yifan. "Please, I need to talk to Yifan. I," and Zitao hesitated, not sure if he should say it. "I'm Yifan's omega. My name's Zitao. Do you know how I can get in contact with him?"

"No, sir. I am sorry."

The receptionist didn't sound sorry in the least, or like he believed Zitao had any relation to Yifan.

Zitao wasn't sure which one of them hung up in disgust as he shoved the phone in his pocket and started pacing out into the living room, chewing his lip. He punched the air and did a spin kick to work out the agitation in his chest. He knew he should wait. That was what omegas were supposed to do: wait for alpha permission to do anything. But he didn't know when Yifan would be home, and he had a horrible feeling in his gut that something bad might happen if he didn't go see Jia now.

What was going on at the Omega House?

He changed into black jeans and a black T-shirt, which were easy to move in, if not his most attractive outfit. Then he got a leather jacket out of the closet, found his sneakers, and grabbed his new wallet.  (Show Lo had given the last to him with the phone, explaining he had unlimited use of the credit cards inside, and a goodly amount of paper money for if he were ever in a situation where he didn't feel like leaving a trail.)

Zitao hesitated at the elevator.  Yifan had asked him not to leave the building, but he hadn't really ordered him. He reasoned, if he was overreacting and nothing was wrong, he'd probably get back before Yifan got home. (Not that he'd lie about having gone.) If there was something wrong, well, the office at the Omega House should have Yifan's personal number. He didn't think Yifan would get too mad at him if he explained it like that.

He wrote a note and left it where Yifan would see it before he took the elevator down to the lobby.  Two alpha guards outside the personal elevator, looked at him in surprise when he stepped out.

"Um, are you sure you should be going anywhere?" one asked him.

"Why?" Zitao asked. He was feeling irritable.

"Mr. Wu ordered no one be let into his penthouse without getting his direct permission," said the other.

They weren't treating him badly. In fact for alphas they were being almost deferential to him. But he was angrier than he wanted to admit about how the receptionist blew him off, so he raised his chin and kept his expression bland but hard. "Did he order you to keep me in? Say I couldn't go out?"

The first alpha looked at his companion with a glint in his eyes like he wanted to lie, but shook his head. "No. But if you go, you'll have to wait around while we get permission to let you back in."

"That's fine," Zitao said as he turned to go.

"Where are you going?" one of the alphas called.

"Do I have to tell you?"

"No. But if Mr. Wu comes back and asks why you're not here, I'd like to have an answer for him."

"The Omega House," Zitao said, realizing it was better if someone knew. "To see a friend."


	17. Chapter 17

Yifan preferred to keep his hands clean and a step away from any nefarious Wu dealings out of practicality. In order to maintain deniability in matters should law enforcement become involved, not because he lacked the stomach for it. Mr. Li was going to be one of his exceptions. He meant it when he told Zitao he was not a nice alpha.

He leaned against crated stacks of merchandise with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the guards drag Zitao's former caseworker from the back room where he'd been kept. They sat him in one of the two chairs at a table in the middle of the warehouse, a bright light shining in his face so his eyes couldn't adjust to the dim illumination around him. So he couldn't see to identify who was talking to him.

Personally, Yifan didn't care if he saw. His inclination was to drag Li down to the water and hold his head under until he told Yifan _everything_. However, it was the middle of the day and harbor patrol was already on the Wu family after a string of bodies were found floating in the water. It was best the head of the family not be caught drowning a beta.

Xiaolong hovered close to the table to make sure Mr. Li didn't attempt an escape while one of the guards ran through a series of questions designed to discover how truthful Mr. Li felt. So far the beta had been honest. Which was a pity, Yifan really wanted to do some convincing.

Show Lo was sitting on some crates near the entrance. Much like Yifan, it was better to keep him away from this sort of going on, both for deniability and because he did not have the stomach for it. But it wasn't wise to send him home alone until the rumors of his dismissal were dealt with. The secretary was rubbing his head and glanced as a pair of alphas entered the warehouse. Qian no longer wore her suit, just a simple long sleeve shirt and jeans too common to be identifiable, and that could be burned if they got bloody. She had taken Cao Lu to a safe house guarded by Wu alphas she trusted. Dalong followed behind her and stopped to hand some things to Show Lo. Presumably pain medication and a new phone with Show Lo's old sim card. He loomed almost possessively as Show Lo took the pills, and Yifan had to remind himself he wasn't curious.

"So that's the infamous Mr. Li," Qian said as she came to stand next to Yifan. "Not much to look at, is he?"

Yifan said nothing, but didn't disagree with the assessment as he looked back at the beta. Li was average in height and weight, in his late thirties, with cropped black hair and dark brown eyes. The right side of his face was slightly pockmarked from acne. He hunched away from the pacing alpha asking rote questions and sputtered answers. The idea someone like _Mr. Li,_ a beta with no spine, had been in charge of _Zitao_ was infuriating enough. But knowing he had been selling access...

"Save that expression for when you're up close and personal, cousin," Qian said. "It'll definitely loosen his tongue."

"Enough of this," Yifan said, pushing away from the crates.

Xiaolong saw his movement and waved off the alpha pacing and questioning Mr. Li. Dalong came over and sent her and the other three guards outside with instructions not to come back until they were called for. Show Lo kept his head down and worked at restoring his phone, already making calls. Qian remained where she was to observe.

Yifan walked over and turned the light away so Li could see him. The beta blinked to get used to the dimness. Yifan didn't say one word as he took off his suit jacket and hung it on the back of the opposing chair. He was in the midst of neatly rolling his sleeves to his elbows when Li's vision cleared. Considering the beta looked ready to piss himself, he recognized who Yifan was. _Good_ , he could skip that part of the intimidation. Yifan sat across from _Mr. Li_ and didn't say a word, simply glared at the beta like he wanted to choke him and watch the life go out of his eyes. Which he did.

Li was quiet for all of a minute before he started a rambling, stuttering defense of himself and his actions. No one was getting hurt. It was just a bit extra on the side. Everyone does it. The omegas didn't even mind.

"So they had an option to decline," Yifan said, looking at his hand, flexing it in and out of a fist.

"They're omegas."

Yifan let his hand drop to the table with a loud thud that made Li's chair squeal when he jumped. "And I'm an alpha and you're a beta." If Li wanted to defend himself with social rank, Yifan had that over him, too. "Let's start simple. Tell me exactly what you did to _my_ Zitao."

"H-He wasn't yours at the time..."

From somewhere behind him, Yifan heard Show Lo let out a huff close to laughter, "Not the best defense."

Li glanced around with wide eyes. He probably couldn't see anyone else, had no idea how many people were lurking in the darkness ready to jump on him with a snap of Yifan's fingers. His adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. He looked back and stared at Yifan's shirt, at the tie Zitao helped put on that morning. "H-He needed alphas to deal with his heat anyway," Li said defensively. "You've seen him."

Yifan cracked his neck to the side and controlled the impulse to throttle Li. That was a pure, possessive, alpha reaction. He didn't want to think about how others had seen Zitao so wanton and needy, so desperate for relief, in so much pain. No one else would ever see him that way again. "The Omega House has vetted alphas for that reason," he said. He had been one when he was seeing Luhan. The whole process was a pain in the ass to go through, but he had appreciated how thorough it was. The mainstays were no recorded history of violence toward omegas, and regular blood work to ensure the alpha wasn't carrying any communicable diseases. "You could have contacted one."

"He didn't have any potential suitors. You've seen him! He's too tall!"

"Oh, yes. Tell _him_ how undesirable his omega is," Qian said, drifting closer. "You clearly were not advocating for Zitao."

"There were other omegas on my caseload I could get mated. No one wanted him."

"I did," Yifan said, dangerously quiet.

Li looked gray as he muttered something he shouldn't, something that made his eyes go wide once the words were out of his mouth. "It's not my fault I was doing the Wu family favors."

Yifan was on his feet and reaching across the table in a flash, grabbing Li by the front of his shirt and pulling him out of his seat and halfway onto the table. "Now that is something I need to near more about, because I sure as shit didn't authorize using someone like you as an asset, so who did?"

Qian stepped in to play 'good cop,' patting his wrist until he let Li slip back into his chair. Yifan hadn't asked her to help, but she did this more than he did. "This is where you give him an alternative target for his anger," she said as she moved behind Li and out of his sight. "I mean, it's not going to save you, but it might hurt less. So don't clam up."

"Who?" Yifan demanded as he sat back down. He set his jaw, waiting for the answer he didn't want to hear.

Li's bottom lip trembled as he stared down at the table, and Yifan was about to slap him when he finally spoke. He knew he was doomed no matter what he did. "The Wu family's Ying Yu," Li whispered down at the table. Behind him, Qian scrunched her face and scowled while Yifan ground down on his teeth.

Yifan drummed his fingers on the table as he continued glaring at Li. If there was one thing he had wanted to avoid as head of the family, it was the familial betrayal and jockeying for influence that traditionally plagued Triad families. He had all his cousins more or less in line, and his lack of siblings was actually a benefit in that regard, but his aunt and uncles had a lot of experience infighting with his alpha-father. He should have known one or more of them were doing unsavory business behind his back.

"When did this association with Ying Yu start?" he asked.

Li was shaking. "She started regularly coming to the Omega House just over two years ago," he said as his shoulders slumped, his fate weighing down on him.

Qian swore and Yifan gave Li a brief reprieve to shoot his cousin a questioning glance. "Two years ago is around when you finished dismantling all the old Wu trafficking operations," she said as explanation. "And Auntie did give up in her opposition to you shutting those down fairly quick. Guess she wasn't just settling into being matriarch."

"Keep talking," Yifan said, returning his gaze to Li. Qian leaned on the back of the beta's chair to loom over him, so he could feel her presence even as he didn't dare look away from Yifan.

Inhaling, Li began. "She came to review potential mates for the head of the Wu family." That made Yifan sneer, and Li started talking faster. "She went around talking to all the caseworkers, getting information on which omegas were expecting to have offers and which had little or no prospects. It seemed normal. Then she mentioned my debts and how I didn't have to have them." He paused like he was waiting for sympathy or understanding, of which he would get neither. "She said it wouldn't be random. Just some Wu alphas who had worked long and hard, and had been denied their outlet, and some Zhangs who paid their dues to her." Ying Yu in bed with the Zhangs was a whole other issue. "Both your families already frequented the house looking for mates, what did it matter?"

"How many of you did she buy?" Yifan demanded.

Li flinched, but answered. "Not as many as she wanted. She was always asking for information to get leverage on the other caseworkers. Rumor was she got a few people fired who had omegas she wanted in their care. That she made people who asked questions disappear."

"Who knew in the administration?"

"The d-director, I think," Li said. "I don't know. She had a lot of contact with the new alphas the director hired."

Of course, she had people put in place. "And what, exactly, were you paid for?"

Li chewed at his bottom lip as if he were considering saying no more. Yifan kicked one of the table legs and the beta jumped. Qian put her hands on his shoulders and leaned to hold him in place. "Th-There was a number we were supposed to call when one of the omegas we had went into heat. We'd get a name texted to us and get it put on the approved visitor list. Nothing really suspicious about a visitor. Some of the omegas aren't orphans and get visitors a lot. Then we just took whoever showed up to the omega's room..."

"You let alphas rape them in their own beds," Yifan said, his tone deadly flat even in his own ears.

"It would have raised questions and left a paper trail if we took them to the nice apartments."

Yifan snarled and attempted not to recall Zitao had been one of those omegas. It didn't work. "These so-called visits, how frequent were they while the omegas were in heat?"

"It depended on the omega and their heat," Li mumbled into his chest. "Sometimes just one, usually... more."

"How many did you regularly force on Zitao?"

Yifan could see his fury reflected in Li's fear as the beta started to panic and squirm under Qian's hold. "He didn't know!" Li shouted, a sharp contrast to the whisper of Show Lo's voice in the background. "None of them thought it was abnormal! And they needed it! No one got hurt!"

Someone was about to get hurt. "Was that what I asked you?" Yifan said as he held the edge of the table in a white-knuckled grip. "What's the most you can recall?"

Li sputtered but finally managed an admission of, "Nine."

Yifan was on his feet and didn't remember overturning the table. But it was on its top several feet away, and Xiaolong looked as if he had barely dodged it. Qian kept Li in his seat as Yifan towered over him. "You let nine, _nine,_ alphas use him when he was his most fucking vulnerable?!"

The beta dug his heels into the concrete floor and tried to push back. "He didn't have prospects. One of them might have even gotten interested. He was going to wind up selling himself on the streets if no one mated him. And now you have him."

Yes, he did have Zitao now, and if he hadn't listened to his aunt he might have had Zitao sooner. "You listen, Zitao was never going to end up selling himself," Yifan said in a low, low tone. "He could beat the shit out of anyone that tried anything with him."

"Until his heat set in," Li snapped, impending doom having given him the ability to talk back at the worst moment.

The crack of flesh on flesh echoed off the walls for the warehouse. Li crashed sideways onto the floor, sprawled, limp, and still, a bit of blood spilling from his mouth. Qian shook her hands. The punch had been hard enough to knock Li out of her grip. "You're supposed to soften him up with a few hits before going for the knockout, cousin," she said as she rubbed her hands on her thighs.

"It was one punch," Yifan said angrily. "Is he still alive?"

Xiaolong righted the table before he moved to crouch over Li. "He's unconscious but alive," he said as he prodded the beta. "Though his jaw might be dislocated."

"Boss," Dalong called before Yifan could order Xiaolong to wake Li up so they could find out. "Problem."

"What?" Yifan growled.

Show Lo walked over but stayed out of range. "I just got a call from the security at your penthouse," he said. "They didn't want to disturb you directly because no one had been asking to go in."

Yifan waited.

"But they thought someone should know Zitao went out."

Li suddenly moved very low on Yifan's list of priorities as his stomach twisted in knots. He'd asked Zitao to say in the penthouse, hadn't he? Had he done something wrong? Had Zitao been waiting for an unsupervised moment to run off? "When?" Yifan asked, keeping his voice level. "Where was he going?"

Show Lo held up his new phone. "Forty-five minutes ago. Since my phone was broken, they couldn't get through to me until now," he said. "Apparently he told the guards he was going to see a friend at the Omega House."

"That's the last place he should be going!"

"He doesn't know that," Qian said as she nudged Xiaolong and told him to go get the guards to clean up the mess.

Show Lo cleared his throat and was clearly trying to hide a grimace. "Also, I've been trying to locate Ying Yu, figuring you might have reason for wanting to speak with her, and she's disappeared. She left the Wu compound two days ago and hasn't been seen since. My contacts say she has someone answering her cellphone at the house so she can't be tracked by it, and the majority of her go-to alphas have also not been around."

"You think she lured Zitao out," Yifan said, and couldn't find any reason to fault the judgement.

His secretary continued to be the harbinger of bad news. "I haven't had luck getting in contact with anyone at the Omega House either, to confirm whether or not Zitao arrived." Show Lo glanced over at Li on the ground, moaning slightly now, and inclined his head. "All things considered, it may be the worst case scenario."

"I have some alphas I'm positive are loyal," Qian said, pulling out her own phone. "They can meet us."

"Get the car," Yifan snapped at Dalong as he grabbed his jacket. "And put a cleaning crew on standby."

\--

Thanks to everyone that is reading this. ^_^


	18. Chapter 18

Zitao chewed on the edge of his thumbnail as he stared out at the city from the back of the cab.

Having to sit still gave his unease time to grow. Not just about how he was worried for Jia and how utterly weird the conversation with Meiren had been, but his not having checked with Yifan before he left the penthouse. It hadn't even occurred to him to ask the guards on the door if they could contact Yifan. They probably could have if they had to get authorization to let people in. And was that normal? He'd never gone into the penthouse without Yifan so he wasn't sure. Though he did know Yifan had been surprised when Ying Yu happened upon them while they were sparring. Maybe it was a precaution to keep her out.

He felt his nervous energy rising as he tapped his foot against the floor, half-ready to jump out and walk the rest of his way to the Omega House. He hoped Yifan didn't get too mad he'd left. He was just going to check on Jia and go right back after.

"Huh," said the cab driver, nearly making Zitao jump. "Never been this empty when I dropped off before."

Zitao looked out the window again and felt his brow furrow. They had arrived at the Omega House and there was no one outside. No valets ready to park cars. No drivers letting alphas off at the bottom of the stairs. No caseworkers running in and out trying to make the best matches for the omegas on their caseload. Glancing at the dashboard over the cab driver's shoulder, Zitao could see it was time for the daily mingling hours. There should have been a line of expensive cars outside and all manner of activity.

The last time Zitao could remember there being no one outside the House, it had been quarantined because a flu had been running rampant. But then Meiren shouldn't have told him to come over.

Zitao paid the driver with one of the credit cards Show Lo left for him and climbed the stairs. He frowned when he found only one of the four sets of double doors unlocked. "Hello," he called as he went inside to find the entry just as empty and eerie as outside.

He stopped at the reception counter and saw no one inside the office, only an overturned chair. The guestbook was open where he could see it. No new names had signed in since yesterday afternoon, and everyone had signed out at almost the exact same time. He felt a tightness in his core that wasn't exactly fear, but made him start moving back for the door when he heard movement behind him but no one calling out questions or greetings.

Four alphas moved between him and the exit. He turned and put his back to the reception counter, a frown pursing his lips. One alpha moved to lock the set of doors that had been open. A couple of them seemed familiar in an odd sort of way, something about their scents: sawdust, new green grass, fireworks. But he couldn't place where he knew them from or why. He hadn't noticed them because the Omega House was overrun with alpha scents; after so many years, only scents he sought and ones that appealed to him stood out.

Like Yifan's sandalwood and rain.

"What's going on?" Zitao asked as he naturally fell into a defensive stance.

"Gotta take you upstairs," one of the alphas said with a sneer.

"Prefer to take him on the floor," another muttered under their breath.

Zitao felt his lips pull in a snarl as he debated his best option. Even if he could fight four alphas, all the doors were locked, and he could see three more were on the curved stairs walking down. But if he ran he could probably make it to the door beneath the staircase that led to the dining room and the kitchen from there. The kitchen had a door to the backyard, and while it locked, a little jiggling and the bolt usually slipped.

He didn't get a chance to run. There was a sound from the receptions office behind the counter he was leaning on, and then someone had a hold on the back of the leather jacket he'd taken from Yifan's closet and he was being dragged backwards over the counter. He was thrown face-down on the ground, his forehead hitting one leg of the overturned chair, and his arms were tied behind his back.

"Aw, don't hurt his pretty face," said a female alpha as Zitao was pulled back onto his feet.

"Poor guy looks pissed," one of her two male alpha companions replied, slapping Zitao's face hard. "I don't like it."

Zitao jerked his head back and glared. He clenched his hands into fists, digging short nails into his palms as he rotated his wrists against the fabric binding them behind his back. It wasn't a good knot. He felt it give and kept working at it as two of the alphas grabbed his upper arms and half-dragged, half-walked him out of the room and up the stairs.

His mind spun with questions. Why were these alphas attacking him? He couldn't think of a single reason anyone should want to go after him. Were they going after anyone who came into the Omega House? Or was it because of Yifan? Yifan had been trying to warn him there was danger in being with the Wu family head. A scent of jasmine caught in the air as they approached the director's office, and Zitao dug his heels into the floor as another horrible option came to mind. The alphas had to fully drag him the rest of the way.

Ying Yu sat behind the director's desk. Her hair was as perfectly slicked back as every other time Zitao had seen her, but she had on a white blouse with her sleeves rolled up and no jacket. She wasn't playing good matriarch anymore as she smoked a cigar and leaned back in the chair, shaking her head at him. "I didn't think it would be so simple getting you away from Yifan. I have your little friend out back, and all that was needed was for someone to say she was in distress. I could have sent her on with the others." She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "My nephew has a lot to learn about keeping an omega. I'm sure he'll get it right next time."

Zitao felt the heat of anger spread across his face and down his neck as he kicked the front of the desk. It moved maybe an inch and she laughed as the hands on his arms tightened and stepped him back.

"Where is everyone?" Zitao demanded.

Ying Yu let out a puff of smoke. "Evacuated. There was a bomb threat. Those with suitors are somewhere safe. I don't need to make more enemies right now. The other omegas and the staff, well... in all the rush for safety, some ran off. I doubt anyone will see them again." She let the words hang in the air and Zitao felt ill remembering all the times he didn't believe the gossip she made omegas disappear.

"Most of the staff are betas," he said, feeling dizzy with anger.

Her smile, awful and evil and somehow beautiful, confirmed all his worst fears. "There's a market for everything," she informed him. "Soon you'll be experiencing it as a commodity. Relocating is going to require a lot of capital, and so is keeping ahead of Yifan. The lot of you will certainly help mitigate the expenses."

Hearing her say it so casually was painful, his angry flush felt like it was burning along his skin. "You're going to whore us out?!" Zitao shouted, wishing he'd been wrong. He wanted to kick the desk again, but the alphas holding his arms had stepped him far enough back he couldn't reach.

"You are already a well-used whore," she said with a sneer.

"I am not!" At least two alphas snickered at him for that, and Zitao shot them glares before turning back to Ying Yu. "Yifan isn't going to let you to do this."

That seemed to dampen Ying Yu's amusement as she tapped ash from the cigar. "Yes, it does seem your hole is good enough he's temporarily lost his mind," she said, and Zitao gave a sharp inhale at the cruelty of the statement, feeling a prickle in his eyes he blinked away fast. "He has a hot temper like his father when things don't go the way he wants, and I imagine he'll pursue. But he'll eventually realize taking you as his mate is the worst choice he could have made." Zitao froze. Did Yifan really want to mate him? "If he doesn't," Ying Yu went on, pausing to let out a breath of smoke and rolling one shoulder. "You'll be in no state for him to make you official when he finds you. Either way the Wu bloodline remains safe."

"You're evil," Zitao said, his anger having turned cold.

"None of this would have happened if you hadn't seduced Yifan," she replied. "I'm doing what's best for the family."

Zitao pressed his lips in a line to keep them from trembling as he jerked out of the grip of both alphas holding him. This time he kicked the desk a lot harder. Hard enough it tipped forward toward Ying Yu before thumping back down to the ground. But that was enough she startled and dropped her cigar. Ash and cinders dirtied her pristine white shirt, its smoldering tip burned a hole just above her navel before she could jump up to brush it to the ground. Zitao didn't get to see her expression because someone shoved him face down across the desk and held him there by the back of his neck, thumb digging into the spot where Yifan had left a mark.

He could feel Ying Yu looming over him. "You fucking slut," she snarled. "I want him out of my sight. Take him out back with his friend for now." The hands yanked Zitao up and started dragging him from the room. "Oh," Ying Yu called after, making them pause. Her voice held the sort of sweetness that never meant anything good. "Yifan thinks he might be pregnant. Make sure he isn't before we leave."

Zitao nearly choked in horror. How could anyone say something like that?

An alpha ran in as he was being dragged out and he managed to overhear Ying Yu shouting, "Coming here?" Then he was out of earshot and being taken downstairs and out back to the physical education center. There was a very bored looking alpha sitting in the dojo, of all places, and Jia tied up in the opposite corner. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Zitao, but she couldn't say anything with the gag in her mouth.

The two male alphas who 'escorted' Zitao threw him down next to Jia. He grit down a cry as pain spiked from his right shoulder, along his arm, and made his fingertips tingle. Jia let out a muffled sound as Zitao struggled into a sitting position, putting his back to the wall and glaring at the alphas. The three had spread out to cover the obvious exits, but not the deck that opened into the enclosed, overgrown garden with the high walls. They started having a truly disgusting conversation on how to carry out Ying Yu's parting order, seeming to enjoy discussing details, and otherwise ignored him and Jia.

"Are you okay?" Zitao whispered to Jia, attempting to tune out the alphas. The things they were saying made him want to cry.

She rolled her eyes at him as if it were the stupidest question she'd ever heard, and it well might have been. She gave a nod toward the alphas and widened her eyes to silently ask a dozen questions. Most of which Zitao only had half-answers for. What was going on? Was everyone else okay? What had he done to piss off the Wu family? Was he really pregnant? Were their guards honestly going to... do the awful things they were talking about?

Zitao shook is head, feeling overwhelmed, angry, and upset. "We're going to get out of here," he said, hoping the alphas didn't overhear. They didn't seem to care if they did.

He twisted his wrists and felt his bonds give a little more. The material was warm and damp. He must have rubbed one of his wrists bloody, but that helped make the fabric stretch and his skin slick. Maybe he was overestimating his abilities, but only three alphas (who would no doubt underestimate him) and a location he knew how to get out of, maybe they had a chance of escaping. He let out a pained mew as he finally slipped a hand free, flexing his fingers and keeping both hands hidden behind his back. He shifted his back to Jia and she got the hint to do the same so he could reach her wrists and untie her hands as well. She also kept her hands hidden when it was done.

"If we can get outside, we can climb that spot in the wall to get out," Zitao said. "Then we have to get to Yifan."

Jia gave him a look like he was an absolute moron as she lifted her chin to indicate the alpha in a tank top, his Wu gate tattoo on display. "This isn't Yifan's doing," Zitao said with a frown as Jia blinked back fear. He leaned over and bumped his forehead to her temple. "Yifan will fix this. I know he will."

"Isn't that cute," someone sneered at them.

"Shut up," another laughed. "A lot of good quality porn starts with omegas making out."

"Just get outside," Zitao whispered to Jia as she subtly nodded. "Just get outside."

"They're not even listening! Hey!"

Jia was shaking and Zitao kept his head bowed against hers as the sound of footsteps approached, heavy booted stomps on the dojo floor. Zitao curled his hands in and out of fists behind his back and closed his eyes. He could still hear the words echoing in his head about what they were going to do, what they were going to do to make sure he wasn't pregnant. It was sick.

A heavy hand grabbed Zitao by the collar and yanked him away from Jia, tossing him onto his back. "Not really my type," said an alpha with bleached hair. "But Ying Yu says to take care of you, so, let's see what you got. Heard you weren't too bad."

Zitao set his jaw as he glared up and waited as the alpha straddled his thighs. He waited until the alpha was undoing his belt before he brought up his knee as hard and fast as he could. The alpha let out a choked yelp and doubled forward as Zitao's hand flashed to clap him on the side of the head, cupping his hand over the alpha's ear. It hurt really bad and, if Zitao had done it with enough force, could rupture that eardrum.

"What the fuck?!" shouted the alpha in a tank top. The one on top of Zitao collapsed to the side, clutching at his head and crotch and moaning in pain.

Jia sprang into motion exactly as Zitao hoped she would, running for the deck. The two remaining alphas split their attentions, one running after her and the other going for Zitao. Jia had the sense to move along the wall and grabbed at a rack of bo staffs, which Zitao didn't think had ever been used. The rack did not fall, but its contents spilled forward and rolled across the floor. The alpha after her almost comically stepped on one and rolled his ankle, falling down as Jia jumped off of the dojo's deck and disappeared from sight.

Zitao didn't have a chance to run after as the alpha in the tank top closed the distance and took a swing at him. He managed to dodge the punch by ducking under it and nearly met a knee aimed for his chin. This alpha was not holding back. Zitao avoided the knee, but it put him off balance and he couldn't do anything to defend when the alpha spun around and kicked him straight in the gut to slam him back into the wall. The whine that escaped Zitao's throat wasn't from pain, even if he was sure his midsection would be bruised later, it was realizing how seriously they meant to make sure there was no possibility he was carrying Yifan's child.

He felt his lip start to tremble and he shoved down on his emotions to focus on the fight in front of him, not to let it distract him. The alpha aimed another solid kick for his middle. Zitao shoved off the wall and hit the alpha's knee with the heel of his hand to put him off balance before delivering a sharp blow to the alpha's side, digging his knuckles in at the tender spot just below the ribs.

"Fuck!" swore the alpha as Zitao got around him, so he wouldn't easily be kicked into any more walls.

There was no one between him and the deck, but Zitao wasn't willing to turn his back. He knew this alpha would run him down. They traded a few more blows. The alpha hit hard enough he was leaving lots of bruises and had noticed Zitao's shoulder was giving him issues, but not hard enough to do a lot of damage. He was looking for an opening in Zitao's defenses to take him out in one fluid, fast move. Around them the alpha Zitao had kneed was bleeding from the ear and still on the floor. The one that had fallen on the bo staff seemed to have twisted his knee and was shouting. Zitao knew he needed to get away before anyone else showed up.

He went on the offence with a quick one-two punch the alpha had to jump back to avoid. The stance he landed in told Zitao he was favoring his right side. Zitao threw a couple more punches at his face so the alpha raised his hands up to guard. He couldn't see when Zitao pivoted and swung his leg to land a solid kick to the alpha's right knee. It was enough the alpha fell to one knee. Zitao rushed forward and landed two more punches to the face with gravity and leverage on his side. The alpha's nose exploded in a spray of blood as he went all the way to the ground. Zitao followed, punching him at least three more times before he realized he was letting out his anger and he needed to escape.

The alpha with the twisted knee roared after him as Zitao jumped off the deck and ran through his overgrown garden to where Jia was waiting. She stared at him with her jaw dropped, corners of her mouth red and bruised from the gag, and eyes wide. Zitao realized he had blood all over his knuckles and splatter on his face, the rest was hidden by his black clothes. He hit the alpha in the tank top a lot more than he thought.

"He kicked me in the stomach," Zitao said, his voice quaking. "I don't even know if that's a problem for sure..."

"It's okay, Taozi." Jia pulled him into a hug before nodding to the cracked, climbable wall. "Let's just get out of here. Your Yifan will fix everything, remember."

\-- 

Sorry I'm a little late posting this week.


	19. Chapter 19

Of the many qualities Yifan had been accused of possessing, imagination had never been on the list.

Yet as his driver defied Hong Kong's traffic laws to get him across town as quickly as possible, his mind raced with dark images of what Zitao might be enduring. How _his omega_ might be hurt or abused, each horrible idea worse in magnitude than the last. He cracked his knuckles and attempted to distract himself by focusing on what he'd do to Ying Yu in retaliation.

"You're starting to scare _me_ with that expression," Qian said as she pulled on a pair of heavy leather gloves.

"If she..."

"I'm sure she tried her worst," Qian interrupted. "Hopefully Zitao punched her in the face for it."

That mental image nearly made Yifan smile as he turned to look out the window. They were almost to the Omega House. He flexed his fingers and glanced over at the twins who were doing a weapons check on their pistols. Internal clashes in the family tended to be quiet assassinations or fisticuffs. But it was impossible to know if Ying Yu had authorized the use of guns. Some part of him wanted to believe she wouldn't go so far, contrary to everything he knew of his aunt.

"She probably deserves whatever you're thinking of doing," Qian said, "but she is still blood."

Yifan slid his gaze to his cousin. "Just say what's on your mind."

She crinkled her nose. "Much as you want to rip out her throat, it would only cause you more trouble. Strip her of her authority and station and lock her up, no one is going to get too upset. Kill her, and our uncles and cousins start to question if you're coming after them." She shrugged. "I know it's an omega matter, but you are still head of the Wu family, and your actions have consequences."

"We'll see," Yifan said. He would make no decisions until he knew Zitao's condition.

"Just make sure you can justify whatever you do."

Yifan felt defying his explicit orders to run a prostitution ring under his nose, _in his name_ , alone justified him. That his mate had been one of the omegas forced into it simply made his rage sympathetic. Of course, as Ying Yu had likely not done her job as matriarch in announcing he had found a prospective mate like he told her, his actions might not garner understanding.

He needed to see Zitao.

The car took a sharp turn into the Omega House driveway and Yifan was out the door before the vehicle was at a full stop. Qian and his bodyguards were on his heels. Show Lo was to remain safely with the car, and had fallen asleep in any case. The painkillers Dalong procured for him were much stronger than his injuries required and had a narcotic effect.

Several black SUVs with tinted windows and no distinguishable markings were parked outside the House to form a barrier in front of the main doors. Wu alphas, loyal to him and brought on Qian's orders, were spread out watching for any sign of movement coming from the doors, and had no doubt secured the perimeter. Yifan made a line for an alpha he recognized, who he was certain was in charge. Qian made good personnel choices, she was going to be a significantly better matriarch for the Wu family than Ying Yu had been.

Zhoumi straightened from where he was leaning against one of the SUVs and took off his sunglasses, sliding them into the front of his jacket. He was going to enjoy breaking up Ying Yu's old gang. He had grown up with Yifan and Qian at the Wu Compound and knew exactly what a tyrant Ying Yu could be when unchecked.

Yifan snarled to himself. He thought he had done a good job of keeping her in check. There would be a through in-house cleaning after this.

"We arrived about fifteen minutes ago and set up a perimeter," Zhoumi said without preamble "There have been a few movements from inside, likely people trying to figure out what our plans are, mostly up front. Rest of the place is pretty quiet."

"Could it be the omegas that are supposed to be in there?" Yifan asked.

Zhoumi shook his head even as he said, "Possible. Seems to be at least some omegas inside, but word is there were several large delivery trucks coming and going all last night and early this morning. Pissed off some of the businesses down the street who were happy to bitch about it."

"A lot of omegas live here," Qian said. "They'd need a lot of supplies. That could have been legit."

"Checked. They take deliveries at the start of the week, not the middle. That's why it messed up traffic flow."

Yifan took a deep breath, gritting his teeth. He took off his suit jacket and tossed it on the hood of the SUV. "Get someone to retrieve footage from the security cameras on the street and track those trucks. Their cargo," and he really would prefer to be wrong about what the cargo consisted of, "does not leave Hong Kong without my direct say so."

"Got some people working on it," Zhoumi said.

"Anything else?" Yifan asked, shoving his sleeves to his elbows.

Zhoumi let out a sound through his nose. "While we were setting up the perimeter we heard some shouting around back. Some of my guys saw a couple omegas climb over the wall and run for it. Figured it was better to just let them get away from whatever was going down."

Escaping over a back wall was familiar as Yifan loosened his tie, rubbing his thumb over the material. "What did they look like?"

Zhoumi whistled and waved another alpha over. "The omegas who jumped the wall. Have a description?"

The alpha was surprisingly young, but the scar on his chin said this wasn't his first time out. He gave Yifan a bow as he shook his head. "We weren't that close. Best I can give is it was a male and a female. Female had pink hair and a bit of of a limp. Male was dressed in black, black hair, and tall for an omega." He paused. "The male seemed to have a hurt arm, and... I think there was blood on him?"

Yifan exhaled and looked at Qian. "Zitao's friend has pink hair."

Qian nodded. "Sounds like your omega," she said. Both Zhoumi and his subordinate startled at 'your omega' confirming Ying Yu had made nothing public. "Also sounds like they gave him a rough time."

Yifan wrapped the tie around his knuckles as he turned back to Zhoumi. His temper felt manageable again, but that didn't mean his aunt was off the hook in any shape or form. "The team you brought knows each other fairly well?" he asked Zhoumi, going on as the other alpha nodded. "Good. I want every alpha you didn't bring detained. I don't give a fuck who they are or who backed them before now, even if it was me. The only way they leave is in your custody or dead. Understand?"

"Got it, boss," Zhoumi said, jerking his chin for the scarred alpha to pass the word.

"Soon as that's clear, I want those doors open."

"You got it." Zhoumi licked between his lips. "I won't suggest you don't go in, but at least let me send some of my people in first."

Much as Yifan didn't like the idea, he nodded in agreement. "Fine." Getting killed meant he wouldn't see Zitao again, and, as the former head's only child, his death would leave a power vacuum. Ying Yu's claim to leadership would be enhanced by her tenure as matriarch and her former leadership role in the Wu family. He moved to get a better look at the doors, his bodyguards following him like shadows. Behind he could hear Zhoumi talking to Qian.

"I don't like Ying Yu and her dirty deeds, but what the fuck is going on? And what was that about _his_ omega?"

"Short version," Qian answered. "Yifan found a mate. Auntie didn't approve, and is trying to get rid of Yifan's omega."

"Shit."

Dalong kept him behind the line of cars while they waited, on the off chance Ying Yu had a sniper in one of the upper windows. It seemed unlikely. Yifan crossed his arms over his chest and glared as if his aunt could feel it inside the building. If she was still inside. He drummed his fingers on his biceps. The idea of Zitao escaping because he had the spirit and physical strength to do so was satisfying, made Yifan proud. But Yifan couldn't know for sure it had been Zitao and... he was fairly sure her name was Jia. He pulled the collar of his shirt open as he kicked the front tire of the SUV. After this he would learn the names of all Zitao's friends.

He glared as he started thinking about the other alphas inside. They were almost certainly the ones Ying Yu had been giving access to Zitao and the other omegas. Maybe allowing Li to live had its use after all. He could identify which he'd taken to Zitao's room.

No more than ten minutes passed while Zhoumi organized his forty some alphas, but it felt like an eternity. He sent his people to reinforce the perimeter around the exits, so they could catch anyone trying to escape during the frontal assault. Then he ordered a pair of alphas to break down one a set of the double doors out front with a military grade battering ram. Nine of the Wu family's most physically imposing alphas rushed inside as the door went down. Immediately there were sounds of a conflict, shouts, and a couple gunshots. Zhoumi stiffened, but after the two no more sounded. Probably only one person with a gun, not an entire armed force.

"Reception area is clear," crackled a voice over a radio. "They're disorganized. Didn't think we'd come in the front."

"Have you identified Ying Yu or acquired her location?" Zhoumi asked. Though it was really too early to have done so.

"Negative."

"Any omegas?"

"Not a whiff."

Yifan's patience was wearing thin. "I'm going in," he said, his tone allowing no discussion on the matter. Though it seemed Zhoumi almost said something before Qian hummed, "omega matter," under her breath. Zhoumi found his mate, Henry, when they were both only sixteen, and had done a lot of fighting over him. He relented.

Xiaolong went in first to make sure no bullets were being saved for Yifan's entrance. Yifan followed with Dalong directly behind him and seven other Wu alphas.

The reception area was a mess. Spatters of blood on the formerly pristine marble floors and several decorative vases were broken, bits of ceramic shards all over. Zhoumi's people were efficient and mostly intact, only two seemed to be sporting injuries that would require medical attention. Of Ying Yu's alphas, on the other hand, nine were bound with zipties and piled against the still locked doors. One was dead. Yifan kicked a leg out of his way and took grim satisfaction at the grunt of pain. It was one of Ying Yu's old guard who slapped him when he was nine.

"We have hostiles on the stairs," said one of Zhoumi's people, her leg bleeding and bruise blossoming on her cheek. "Seven on the right, four on the left."

"No apparent metal," another said, meaning no one was waving around a gun.

Yifan moved to where they could see who he was, a move the twins did not like as they rushed to flank him. At least one of Ying Yu's people went white and froze and two others suddenly seemed more intent on the exit than on attacking anyone. Another dropped to his knees when he got to the bottom of the stairs and gave up. The rest either were fools or knew there wouldn't be much mercy to go around when this was settled.

"Xiao," Dalong called to his brother, motioning to someone on the left.

"I see him," Xiaolong replied.

Yifan spared a glance to what had the twins' attention and smirked as he recognized the night supervisor that had gone missing, the one who had given Show Lo such a hard time last night. Good. "Deal with it," he said to Xiaolong as he motioned Dalong to stay with him. He'd seen an alpha he knew was one of Ying Yu's favorites on the left staircase. Those were already brawling with Zhoumi's people. No one was getting near enough for Yifan to hit. Pity.

In the chaos, Yifan felt relived. They didn't have Zitao. His omega would have been brought out with a knife to his throat by now, by Ying Yu herself, if they had him.

Reinforcements burst from the doors beneath the stairs and charged. Ying Yu's numbers were slightly higher than Yifan appreciated, and it didn't even account for whoever she had trusted with the trucks. Dalong tackled an alpha holding a knife and rushing for Yifan, slamming him to the ground and dislocating his shoulder in a single move. He kicked the feet out from another attacker and cracked her head against the wall as she fell.

A younger alpha, who had tragically made the wrong choice in masters, got around Dalong and swung at Yifan. He easily dodged, but she was surprisingly fast in reversing her momentum to try and smash her elbow into the side of his neck. Yifan grabbed her bicep in mid-motion and yanked her forward as he stepped to the side, letting her force carry her off balance when she struck nothing. Yifan hit her hard in the exposed side with the heel of his hand and she doubled over with a yelp, never seeing it coming when he punched her in the back of the head. She went down to the floor and stayed down.

Qian was inside the building now, attempting to organize the mess and get the bound alphas and injured outside so no one could cut them free or kill them respectively.

There was no cohesion in the alphas Ying Yu had. Some had experience but were physically past their prime and others were young but had never been in a familial dispute before. They were losing disappointingly fast against Zhoumi's well organized team. "I need to talk to that one," Yifan said as he stepped over the alpha he'd put down, pointing at one of Ying Yu's favorite yes-men, an alpha by the name of Ling. Being called out startled him and the alpha fighting him kneed him in the groin and shoved him at Yifan's feet.

"Fuck," Ling swore as Yifan kicked him onto his back.

"Where is Ying Yu," Yifan demanded.

Ling pressed his lips in a firm line and glared up. Yifan put a foot on his throat. "I am the head of this fucking family, not her," he said as he pressed down had, but not so hard Ling couldn't speak. "She disobeyed my orders and hurt my _mate_. I'll ask only one more time. Where is Ying Yu?"

It was hard to say which part of that got through Ling's thick skull, but his eyes went wide and he stuttered out, "D-Director's office. Las-Last I saw."

Yifan kicked him away. "I want this one around for questions later," he said to the alpha who'd kneed Ling. She gave him a salute as she knelt to shove Ling onto his stomach and tie his arms behind his back.

Most of Ying Yu's alphas were dispatched or losing, and additional reinforcements didn't seem to be coming, as Yifan made his way upstairs. One of the twins shouted after him as he turned the corner and left sight. It was impulsive to go alone, but he didn't need or want an audience when meeting his aunt.

The office was near the end of a hallway, giving Yifan ample time to notice the various signs of struggle and of drag marks on the floor, scratches on door frames where omegas tried to keep from being taken away. The smell of fear, sex, and blood said alphas using his family's name had done awful things. Examples would need to be made to reinforce that the Wus were not any of the other Triad families and such actions were _not_ acceptable.

Beneath the other smells he could detect a faint scent of cherry blossoms. Zitao must have been in this hallway less than an hour ago, and that hastened Yifan's steps. He needed to deal with Ying Yu so he could go find where his omega had gone.

Yifan kicked the door open and off the hinges without sensible concern for his safety. If his aunt wanted to kill him, she could have easily shot him dead. Instead she was standing behind the desk, looking out the wide window, and attempting to retain as much dignity as she could with her followers routed and what looked to be burns and ash on the front of her shirt.

"What have you done?" Yifan demanded as he crossed the room. The cherry blossom smell was stronger here.

"Miscalculated, clearly," Ying Yu answered as she turned to face him.

"Oh?"

"I should have prioritized departure instead of dealing with your messes." She scowled down at her shirt, brushing at some ash like it was part of his supposed messes. "I could have done that from elsewhere."

"Could you now?" Yifan said as he rounded the desk so she was just out of reach.

Ying Yu let out a condescending sigh as she looked him up and down. "Such potential. You're smarter then my brother, but you still only think with your fucking knot."

Yifan squared his jaw and didn't let her bait him. "Where are all the omegas?" he asked with a wave of his hand to indicate the building. "The staff? Li said you'd only managed to turn a few of them." He sneered. "Lost your touch?"

The angry flush was impressive, bright red across her cheeks and ears, before fading a moment later. "They'll be put into better use where they're going. If you want, I can send Li on with them as well. Betas actually fetch a good price on the market, even more so than omegas, if you know the right customer."

"I decided the Wu family doesn't traffic in _people_ any more," Yifan said, slamming his fist down on the desk.

"They're omegas, a few betas, no one will care if they go missing," she nearly spat at him. "It's lucrative, Yifan."

"Lots of things are lucrative that I haven't forbidden."

Ying Yu shook her head. "You're in an idealistic phase, Yifan. But you'll come to your senses eventually, and when you do, I'll have ensured this market isn't closed to you."

She was utterly delusional, and Yifan was done. "Your trucks aren't leaving Hong Kong. They will be found. No Wu ships or planes will transport them if I have to freeze all our shipping lines."

"I'm not using the Wu network, Yifan," she said with a smile that made his stomach drop. "I didn't want you to catch me."

"Auntie, it better not be the Zhangs."

She had the audacity to _laugh_. "Of course it is. They get first pick and move the rest, and you don't dare stop them or it'll spark an outright conflict."

Yifan's hand was on her throat and slamming her back against the wall next to the window. "You bitch," he growled as he leaned over her. "You don't know what I would and wouldn't dare." He was finished with the conversation, finished with her shit. "What did you do to Zitao?"

"Nothing fun," she said with a nasty pull of her upper lip. "But I've heard he's a lot of it."

That made Yifan see red as his fingers tightened and he nearly yanked her sideways to throw her out the window. It only was the second floor. She'd survive the fall. "What did you do to my mate?" he demanded again.

"He is not your mate," she snarled back. "I will not allow it."

"It's not your choice," Yifan said, leaning so close their noses nearly touched. "It was always _my_ choice."

"I'm matriarch!"

"You're nothing."

They glared straight into one another's eyes and Yifan felt his grip tighten on her neck. Oh, how he wanted to choke her and leave her body in an alley somewhere with no identifying characteristics.

Someone cleared their throat behind him. "Apparently she sent Zitao out back with some bruisers after he mouthed off and made her drop her cigar," Qian said from the doorway. Yifan had no idea how long she'd been there. "Don't worry, Auntie. Ripped and burned clothes are on trend these days."

"Qian, your cousin..."

"Is being a lot nicer than I'd be if you'd lured Cao Lu into a trap."

"The trucks are going to the Zhangs," Yifan said, not turning from Ying Yu.

"Yeah, I heard. Dalong's going to let Zhoumi know."

"What's the status here?"

Qian walked in the room, steps muffled when she hit the carpet. "Still searching all the rooms, but it looks like the alphas we clashed with at the front are the extent of her minions here. But we both know she will have plants at the Wu Compound." He could hear her come around the desk and pull out the chair to sit down. "Injuries but no fatalities among our people. So far seven dead on her side. What do you want done?"

"Have the cleaning crew disappear them when they deal with this place," Yifan said, making sure Ying Yu looked right into his eyes as he said it.

"Those are Wu family alphas!" she shrieked as Qian let out a low whistle and twisted in the chair.

Yifan snarled at his aunt. "No. They are traitors. I'm head of the Wu family. They betrayed _me_ when they backed you, and will be treated accordingly. They will disappear. There will be no remains to mourn. Their names will be struck from the Wu family records."

Ying Yu somehow colored and went pale at the same time, her eyes wide. Finally he found something that upset her, a consequence she wouldn't have dared. "You can't do that! Some served the family all their lives!" she said, grabbing his wrist as if she could break his hold. "Yifan!"

"You said Zitao was taken out back," Yifan said, slowly turning to Qian.

"The physical education building," Qian said as they both ignored Ying Yu's struggle. "Not there now. But go take a look."

"Why?"

"To be impressed?" Qian said with a shrug. "I was. And decide if the cleaners need to have any more bodies."

"You can deal with her?" Yifan said, nodding his head toward Ying Yu.

"I'll have her bagged and taken somewhere."

"Don't let her get away, Qian."

"If I feel any familial sympathy, I'll remember she would have done the same shit to Cao Lu if I were head Wu."

Yifan turned back to Ying Yu. He didn't say anything as he pulled her toward him and then slammed her back against the wall with all his strength. She crumpled to the floor when he let go of her throat, but she was tough enough she didn't loose consciousness. He gave her a slight bow of his head. "I don't know if I'll be seeing you again," he said. "Shame you'll miss the bonding ceremony after how invested you were in my finding a mate."

If she was able to respond, he didn't hear it as he left her to Qian and walked out.

Dalong was coming down the hall. He had a cut over his left eyebrow but looked to be unharmed otherwise. "I need to go to the physical education building outback," Yifan said with a wave of his hand the direction he thought it was.

"And you're not going to run off unguarded?" Dalong said, then flushed as he realized what he'd said. Yifan just smirked.

Behind the main building a few of Zhoumi's people were still doing checks as Yifan led Dalong into a building up-kept to a bare minimum of standards. The smell of cherry blossom's was stronger now, and even though Yifan knew Zitao wasn't here, he hurried into a dojo. Bo staffs were scattered across a floor splattered randomly with spots of blood. Two of Zhoumi's alphas were inside, watching three other alphas sitting against a wall in various states of injury.

"What happened here?" Yifan asked as he inhaled. Zitao's scent was rich and recent, and so was a sour note of distress.

"Found 'em like this, boss," an alpha with a scar across her neck said. "We just tied 'em and propped 'em up there."

One of them had a knee twisted in the wrong direction and was sweating profusely. Another had blood flowing from his ear but looked otherwise well. The third was a bloodied mess and didn't seem entirely lucid. Someone had punched him in the face, a lot. All three were keeping their heads down, shamed. Like an omega had just kicked their asses. Yifan just had to find out why the omega felt the need.

"Qian's right," Yifan said, actually smiling as he cracked his knuckles. "I'm impressed."

\--

Thanks to everyone that's been reading this story. ^_^ I got stitches in my finger Monday, so I'm actually surprised I got this up on time this week. LOL!


	20. Chapter 20

Zitao felt incredibly stupid.

He had been so intent on getting to the Omega House, he hadn't considered how he would get back to Yifan's place later. Rather, he intended to take a taxi, but he didn't know the address or the name of the building or where it was. And he was so distracted on the way to the Omega House, he couldn't remember the scenery to follow his path backwards.

In the back of his mind he knew he wasn't exactly being fair to himself. His idea had been to get Yifan's information at the House. He hadn't ever expected... any of what he'd been confronted with. Especially Ying Yu. Thinking too long about the nasty stuff she said made his chest tight and his eyes sting.

No one had chased them after he and Jia got over the wall. He thought some alphas saw them do it, though, so grabbed Jia's hand and made her run until they were in a crowd. They kept with the flow of the people on the sidewalk without drawing much attention. Zitao had done his best to wipe away the specks of blood on his face, shoving raw hands into his pockets, and Jia kept her head down so people saw her pink hair but not the bruises on her face. But Jia didn't have shoes and had starting to limp, and carrying her would have drawn attention, even if Zitao's shoulder weren't hurting so much he wasn't sure he could carry her for long.

They found a place to hide in a niche that wasn't quite an alley, behind a row of food stalls. Stacks of boxes and a few upended pallets leaning against the wall kept them hidden from view of the street.

The proprietor of the closest stall wasn't happy about a pair of dirty, bloody omegas squatting behind his business, one with no shoes. He bluntly told him he didn't want alpha trouble when someone came to claim them. Jia started shaking, and it made Zitao angry enough he growled, "My alpha isn't the one you need to worry about if you don't mind your own business."

The beta didn't know how to respond to that, but his partner laughed. Zitao bought steamed buns from _her_ , and no one else bothered them. Jia ate the food ravenously. She hadn't eaten since they dragged her to the dojo yesterday. Zitao felt so sick he didn't even attempt eating.

He found the cellphone in his pocket while he was getting out the wallet Show Lo left him. It was useless to him with no numbers, and he wanted to throw it out into the street. But Jia looked a little less beaten down when she asked to see it, so he let her have it. She said she was going to do a search on ways they could find his alpha, but she was just playing. But hadn't that been his first inclination a few hours ago? Had it only been hours?

Now that the adrenaline had worn off and he wasn't moving, sitting in a cramped, cool space, Zitao could feel how much his body hurt.

Bruises were blooming everywhere, including on his head and cheek from when he'd been dragged into the office and tied up. His wrists were raw and dried blood flaked off whenever the cuffs of Yifan's leather jacket rubbed. His shoulder felt _wrong_ from having been twisted and jerked, from catching all his weight when he was thrown down in the dojo. The pain flowed down his bicep and into his forearm. His knuckles, well, he felt a certain prideful satisfaction about the throbbing ache in his hands, like an intense workout where the burn was earned. But his stomach... he was doing mental gymnastics to avoid thinking on how his stomach hurt.

"What are we going to do?" Jia whispered. She wouldn't complain, but the feet of her stockings were torn and bloody and she couldn't walk much further on her own.

"Maybe we can go to Yifan's office," he said. They could find the address for that, probably.

It wasn't a great idea, though. Aside from the fact they probably wouldn't get through the door with how much of a mess they looked, it might not be Yifan they found. Ying Yu could be there. But maybe they could loiter around and wait for Yifan's car. Would that make them seem too suspicious? He didn't want to end up tied up again if Yifan's security thought they were up to something malicious. They wouldn't call him, no matter what Zitao said. Talking to the receptionist before made that clear.

Zitao wrapped the arm not giving him troubles around Jia's shoulders to tuck her closer. Her warmth wasn't what he wanted right now, but it was something, and he was incredibly glad she was all right. Incredibly glad neither of them was being being sent away to be... He bit the inside of his cheek hard as he remembered others were. He needed to get to Yifan. Yifan could fix what his aunt was doing.

Jia's sudden yelp made him jump to his feet, pressing his back to the wall so no one could get behind him as he searched for whatever frightened her. But not even the surly beta at the steamed bun stall had eyes cast their direction. Exhaling, Zitao looked down at Jia to ask what was wrong, and she looked back with her eyes wide as she held up the phone.

It was ringing. Or audibly vibrating, with a number Zitao didn't know emblazoned across the screen.

Zitao stared down. He had no idea who could be calling. He didn't even know the number. He took it from Jia and swiped his thumb over the screen to answer, though he didn't say a word, just listened. Some part of him was sure it was Ying Yu, somehow, calling to spit more vile things into his ear; which made Show Lo's tired, slurred voice even more startling.

"Hello? Is this Zitao?"

Zitao's heart was pounding so hard in his ears he almost didn't hear it when Show Lo repeated his name. "Yes?" he said after a breath, realizing Show Lo was waiting for some kind of response.

There was a pause before Show Lo spoke again, sounding as shocked as Zitao felt. "You have your phone on you?"

"I don't have any numbers," Zitao said, his voice hitching as Jia stood and leaned against him to listen in. "Is Yifan with you?"

Zitao could hear muffled movement and then Show Lo shouting, sound muted as he held the phone away from his mouth. "Dalong, get Yifan! He has the phone I left for him!"

The seconds stretched long, and then Yifan was on the other end of the line. "Zitao, are you okay? Where are you?" he asked, his voice deep and rich, and not at all angry despite the demand in his tone. "Zitao?"

"I don't know," Zitao said, not sure which question he was answering. Jia yanked his jacket sleeve and pointed at the stalls. "Behind some food stalls."

"If he has a phone, we can track him pretty quick," said someone in the background.

Zitao slid back down the wall, Jia dropping with him, as he listened to Yifan snap a couple orders. His fingers felt stiff as he clutched the phone tight, pressing it to his ear so he could hear the sound of Yifan's voice, even when it wasn't speaking to him. He liked Yifan's voice. "Yifan," he said, only wanting to hear the sound of his alpha's name on his lips. Then he remembered he had things to say, important things that couldn't wait. "The matriarch..."

Yifan growled and Zitao went rigid. He hadn't even accused Ying Yu of anything, yet.

Then Yifan let out a long sigh. "I know," he said, his voice a bit rough, but soft, like he was trying to soothe Zitao's fear and stress with his voice alone. "We arrived at the Omega House shortly after you'd gone. My aunt is not a problem you have to concern yourself with any longer, I'm dealing with her." The noise in the background was more muted, he must have stepped away from other people. "Zitao, did she hurt you?"

Zitao didn't know how to answer. He felt the answers sticking in his throat, and he shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. Her alphas had bruised him and knocked him around. She said the most repulsive things he ever heard and intended to have much, much worse done to him. Ying Yu _scared_ him, made him angrier than he knew himself capable of becoming. "I got away, with Jia..." was the only answer Zitao could manage.

"Zitao..."

"She said she was going to s-sell everyone that was at the House," Zitao said, not willing to add that included him, but he was sure Yifan understood.

Jia inhaled sharply, grabbing his uninjured arm and squeezing. Belatedly he realized, if Jia had been tied up in the dojo since Ying Yu's arrival, she couldn't have known the full extent of what was going on inside the House.

"I'm not letting that happen," Yifan said, full of determination. He was a person who could get anything done when determined. "I will get them back. I promise you."

"Okay," Zitao breathed.

There were voices in the background and then Yifan's tone was gentle, like he was stroking the nape of Zitao's neck and kissing him. "Stay where you are. I'm coming to get you," he said. "I'll be there soon. You're not far."

Zitao nodded and dropped the phone in his lap as he exhaled. He felt overwrought all of a sudden, and Jia's leaning in and looking at him wide eyes didn't help. "Did you mean what you just said?" she asked in a whisper as if keeping quiet could make it all go away. Her flush cheeks were as pink as her hair and her bloodshot eyes. "I mean... if I think about a lot of the nasty things they said, it makes sense... but alphas constantly say awful crap like that to us and don't..."

"Yifan promised he'd rescue them," Zitao said as he hugged her. "He said he _promised_."

"You think he means it?" she asked into his shoulder.

"He wouldn't promise anything he couldn't do," Zitao said, idly rubbing his free hand over his abdomen. "I told you, he'll fix things."

They stayed curled up like that for a while, and other than body aches and noise from the street, it was comfortable. He didn't know how long passed before there was commotion on the street. Jia jerked up and bit her lip as Zitao rocked into a crouch and peeked around stacked boxes to see what was happening. Though, from how the beta at the steamed bun stall kept looking at the street and then looking at them, it was the alpha trouble he'd been worried about.

Two large SUVs with tinted windows had stopped in the street, flashers on. The crowd instinctively gave wide berth as the vehicle doors opened and several alpha climbed out, all of them looking as if they'd been in a brutal fight. One went to move traffic along around the cars while another two glared at the crowd that hadn't made way. A pair of alpha bodyguards Zitao recognized, and who looked like they earned their paychecks today, spread out and searched for danger.

In the middle of it all was Yifan, no suit jacket, flecks of blood standing out against his white dress shirt. His hair was mussed and falling around his face, his eyes narrow as he scanned the crowd and rows of food stalls. He looked gloriously dangerous, and he had a slight snarl on his lips that Zitao felt the mad urge to kiss away.

Zitao grabbed hold of the boxes to pull himself to his feet as he walked out of the niche, out in front of the stalls. Someone hissed for him to get out of the alphas' way as he stepped into the empty half circle that had formed on the sidewalk.

Yifan's gaze snapped to him and everything seemed to go silent.

Then the space between them disappeared. Zitao didn't know which of them moved but he was in Yifan's arms. The scent of sandalwood and rain filled his nostrils as he hid his face against Yifan's neck and wrapped his arms around Yifan's waist. "I got lost. I didn't know how to go back," he said as his fingers clutched his alpha's shirt, as if he feared Yifan might attempt to shake off his hold. "I'm s..."

"Don't apologize," Yifan said in a low growl, stroking his hair. "I'm taking you home."

Zitao liked the sound of that so much his eyes watered. "Jia," he said, managing to look over his shoulder. "What about Jia? I said you'd fix things, and make it safe..."

He must have been clinging to Yifan slightly longer than he realized. Someone had brought out a stool for Jia to sit on and she was talking to a roughed up beta eating a skewer. The wall of people around them had becoming thicker and far more curious, a lot of cellphones out taking pictures. Zitao suddenly worried he was embarrassing Yifan. Pictures of a dirty, bruised omega clinging to the head of the Wu family couldn't be desirable. However, Yifan's hold did not budge when he tried to pull away.

"I'm not letting you go," Yifan growled in his ear.

"The cameras..."

Yifan did the last thing Zitao expected. The alpha bit him. Tugged the collar of the jacket and T-shirt aside and bit down on that spot he seemed to favor, where neck met shoulder. Bit down hard enough it sent a thrill of lust and pain through Zitao that made his knees go weak and he had to hold on to Yifan not to fall. "I hope the pictures are all over Hong Kong by tomorrow. I'll have the best of them framed," Yifan said, lapping up the line of Zitao's neck to nip at the silver in Zitao's earlobe. Zitao moaned in response.

"Boss, your place has several rooms," Show Lo called from behind. "Might I suggest moving this to one of them."

Zitao blushed and looked over his shoulder again. Jia had both eyebrows raised and her jaw slightly dropped. The beta next to her, Zitao hadn't recognized earlier. Show Lo looked utterly exhausted and like he'd also been in a fight. "Miss Jia's feet need medical attention," he said, holding out a skewer to Jia. She wasn't shy about accepting now that it was clear Zitao knew him. "Then I'll find her a safe place to stay until this is sorted out."

"Good. Take Dalong and Xiaolong with you for protection," Yifan said, and then looked at Zitao. "Does that satisfy?"

"Yes," Zitao said in a sigh.

\--

Ah! I cannot believe this story is 20 chapters long so far! *sniffles* Starting to wrap up, too. Thanks to everyone for reading. ^_^ And thanks for the concern, stitches are out of the finger now!


	21. Chapter 21

The sight of Zitao had been a relief like no other.

Zitao had stepped into sight looking almost menacing in his all black apparel and a leather jacket. Silver piercings gleaming in the sun and the creases of his knuckles stained with dried blood. The scent of cherry blossoms and salty sweat was enhanced by the metallic tang.

He'd gotten Zitao into his arms, soothed by how his omega clung to him, before his mind started to absorb all the obvious wrongs. The visible bruises on Zitao's face he'd expected, and Yifan was pleased to note they were not as numerous as he had feared. The smell of other alphas on Zitao's skin he should have expected, but he contented himself those scents would be washed away and overwhelmed by his own soon. But when he caught a glimpse of an ugly bruise on Zitao's neck - a thumbprint, most likely from someone holding him down - so near his healing bite and darker than his mark, a very alpha instinct took over.

That Zitao melted into him and moaned was incredibly gratifying. If good pictures popped up in gossip columns, he'd make sure Qian showed them to Ying Yu.

Dalong now had Zitao's friend, Jia, moved into one of the SUV's and she and Zitao were whispering to one another. From how she pursed her lips and nodded, Zitao was assuring her one or both of them would be all right even if they were separated for a while. Given recent events, Yifan didn't begrudge the glint of doubt in her eye as she glanced over at him.

Yifan took the moment to give some quick instructions to Show Lo and Zhoumi, Qian having stayed at the Omega House to oversee clean up and deal with Ying Yu. Once Jia was mended and settled somewhere secure and comfortable, Show Lo (who also had orders to have a doctor look at him) was to make sure none of Ying Yu's dealings could be linked to the Wu family's licit holdings. Preferably not to the illicit ones either, but those were easier to burn to the ground and disavow if necessary. Zhoumi was in charge of finding the omegas and any others Ying Yu had kidnapped and given leave to do what he felt necessary. Short of needing Yifan's authorization to start an all out turf war with the Zhangs, he was supposed to report to Qian for the next few hours.

"Oh, I'm not interrupting unless I can direct your anger far, far away from me," Zhoumi informed him with a knowing smirk.

"The strategy has worked for me, so far," Show Lo quipped, coughing at the less than amused look Yifan shot him. "Doctor Wong will be meeting you at your building, and Doctor Zhong is set to come look at Miss Jia's feet."

Zhoumi lifted his chin and Yifan followed the motion to where Zitao was ruffling Jia's pink hair. "From this distance you almost can't tell he's an omega. He could pass as one of my people," Zhoumi said. "Down to how he's trying to pretend his arm isn't giving him trouble."

In addition to the bruises on his face and neck, something was amiss with Zitao's right arm. He seemed to have full range of movement when he did move it, but kept it close to his side with his forearm protectively across his midsection. Neither was a good sign, but the latter alarmed Yifan considerably more. He pushed it out of mind for the moment. The doctor would have answers.

"Find those omegas," Yifan ordered as he went to collect Zitao.

He didn't even have to call for Zitao. The omega noticed him on the move and leaned in to say one more thing to Jia before coming to his side. "Is she going to be all right in Show Lo and the twins' care?" Yifan asked, because Zitao obviously cared a great deal. He put a hand on Zitao's back, applying enough pressure he could feel the line of a straight spine trough the layer of leather. "She's not too nervous being alone with them?" Yifan couldn't fault her if she were.

"They'll take good care of Jia, right?" Zitao asked.

"Of course," Yifan said as he gently urged Zitao toward his limo. Someone sent for his driver to bring the car around, and police had made sure it got through the traffic jam his scene with Zitao had caused. This area of Hong Kong was well under Wu family influence. "Show Lo's already contacted a doctor and reserved a hotel where she is going to be well cared for. You needn't be concerned. You can talk to her later."

Zitao nodded as he climbed into the limo and slouched, letting out a sigh, as soon as he sat. The unhurt facade he'd been holding together melted. "My shoulder... hurts," he admitted once Yifan was seated next to him. "They threw me down a couple times."

"While you were fighting?" Yifan asked, reaching over and stroking black hair, stiff and sticky with dried blood and sweat, from Zitao's face. "I saw the wake you left."

"No," Zitao said, as if insulted Yifan would assume such. "No one threw me down when we were in a fight. Just... when I was tied up."

By nature, Yifan wanted to demand a blow by blow account of the entire day, starting the moment he'd left the penthouse that morning. But Zitao was hurt and shivering ever so slightly, his gaze a bit unfocused. Yifan would get the whole story eventually, but for now he'd listen and ply with questions to get what pieces he could. "You don't need to worry about your shoulder. I have a doctor meeting us at my penthouse and he'll take good care of you. Are your wrists all right?"

Zitao furrowed his brow and yanked up the left sleeve of the leather jacket to show his forearm, like he hadn't looked at it before. Yifan gave a hiss of displeasure at the sight of a wrist rubbed raw and scabbed over where the skin had been broken. He was beginning to have second thoughts about leaving any of Ying Yu's minion's alive.

"Does it hurt?" he asked gently as he stroked the pads of his fingers over Zitao's inner wrist.

"It didn't," Zitao said, his voice cracking as he stared at his wrist and blinked back tears. "I'm sorry I'm a mess."

"I told you not to apologize," Yifan snapped, cursing when Zitao flinched away. He was doing a poor job of taking care of his omega. "I should have protected you."

Zitao bit the corner of his lip as he pulled the sleeve back down to cover his bloodied wrist. "I did okay taking care of myself."

That wasn't the point. "You took out three alphas. You did more than okay," Yifan said, moving his hand to the nape of Zitao's neck. "But you shouldn't have needed to do so."

"I only took out two," Zitao said as he leaned forward, letting Yifan massage his neck. "Jia knocked down a staff rack and that got one of them."

"And if she hadn't?"

"I guess I would have managed them, too."

Yifan couldn't help a bit of a smile at the conceit as he worked his thumb in a slow, soothing circle on the side of Zitao's neck. "I should hire you as a bodyguard. Not many alphas could have taken out two on their own."

Zitao didn't reply for a long while, and when he did it was soft and on a different topic. "Your aunt thought you were going to make me your mate," he said, picking at the dried blood beneath his short nails. "She thought it would be a massive mistake."

"What else did she say?"

"Awful things."

Yifan inhaled to control his temper. His aunt wasn't here for him to vent it on. "Come here," he said, flexing his fingers on Zitao's neck to coax the omega onto his lap. Zitao didn't resist. He climbed to sit sideways, placing his uninjured shoulder against Yifan's chest and his head on Yifan's shoulder. The shivering stopped and he relaxed as Yifan put an arm around his waist to hold him steady. "My aunt is a bitch. I've known that since I was a child. But I didn't realize she still disregarded me..." Yifan ran a hand lightly over Zitao's arm and was relived he didn't wince in pain. "I didn't know she would defy me - didn't know she _had_ defied me - on so many different levels." He would need to be more careful with his uncles now. "Her opinion on your suitability did not matter once my mind was made up. I know you are not a mistake."

Zitao's hand was idly rubbing at his stomach and his words were warm against Yifan's throat. "Then she wasn't wrong?"

"She was wrong about a lot of things," Yifan replied. "But, no, not about my wanting to have you as my mate. This wasn't how I intended to ask."

"How were you going to ask?" Zitao wanted to know. He'd shifted so his lips just lightly brushed Yifan's neck.

"Probably at dinner. I'm not known for imagination in romantic gestures," he said, even as inspiration struck. "Or maybe in the gym after you'd thrown me while sparring."

"You're too good. I don't think I'll ever get an opening to throw you."

"I have no doubt you'll manage it," Yifan said, alpha pride demanding he tack on, "eventually."

Yifan could feel the ghost of a smile on Zitao's lips before it faded with a sigh. "Are you sure you want to ask?" Zitao said, like the words were bring dragged out. "You might just be infatuated now and want someone else later. I might be accidentally seducing you. The sex might get boring."

Just what vile things had Ying Yu said to take Zitao down that line of thought, Yifan had to wonder. Nothing good. "I doubt the sex will ever be boring," he said, hooking his fingers under Zitao's knee and pulling him more firmly onto his lap. "I look forward to when it's familiar and I know what makes you purr and what makes you scream my name."

Zitao shifted his weight and freed his good arm to wrap around Yifan middle, nuzzling his face into Yifan's neck and inhaling a deep breath. "I thought you'd figured that out already."

"My theories need to be tested," Yifan replied. The cherry blossom smell was becoming headier. "I adore your scent."

"No one ever said that to me before."

Yifan kept from gritting down on his back teeth because Zitao would feel him do it. Of course no one had. The alphas who'd come to him were just there to use him as a hole, use him to wet their knots. "That's because it was meant for me," he said, his voice a bit rough as his hold on Zitao tightened. Li or Ying Yu or someone was going to give him a list of those alphas, and it was not going to be pretty. "I won't want someone else later, Zitao."

Zitao lifted his head from Yifan's shoulder and sat back just enough their eyes met. "How can you be sure?"

One corner of Yifan's mouth pulled in a smile as he reached up to touch the spot just below Zitao's ear, caressing slowly down to his newly darkened mark. "I'm a planner by nature, but I'm not fool enough to ignore when something feels right. You feel right. All of the things stupid people would say makes you an unfit omega make you perfect for me. I like your height. I like how you fight. I like your slight arrogance, because my mate _should_ have cause to look down on everyone else." He lowered his voice as he whispered the sort of secrets an alpha only shared with their mate. "I was _frightened_ when I learned you'd been lured into a trap. I didn't know what to do if you..." A litany of horrors came to mind, and Yifan decided not to voice any of them. "Ying Yu should be grateful to you for escaping. Otherwise, she wouldn't have her life."

"She's your aunt..."

"And I want you as my mate," Yifan said, lightly pressing on his mark. "You don't have to decide now, but I am asking."

Zitao was flush, Yifan could feel it. "I always liked you, even when you were seeing Luhan I hoped you'd look at me. I had fantasies you'd suddenly notice me and take me away and..." He paused as the hand laid on his stomach clenched at his shirt. "I used to daydream about having lots of children and a mate who could take care of us."

Yifan's chest hurt in a way he thought was good as he kissed Zitao, _his_ omega kissing back with equal passion. He had been angry before, but he suddenly _hated_ his aunt for nearly taking this from him. "I know I haven't proven it today," Yifan said, breaking the kiss even as he planted another on Zitao's cheek, his chin. He dropped a hand to rest over the one Zitao had clenched at his stomach. "But I will be that mate. I want a lot of children, and a mate that can teach them how to take out two alphas on their own."

"Three, if they don't have a friend to help," Zitao said with a smile that abruptly cracked. "One your aunt's people kicked me in the stomach, and I might be pregnant."

"The one you left bloody?"

Zitao nodded.

Yifan squeezed his hand and held him, rocking slightly as Zitao's head dropped to rest on his shoulder again. "Like I said, I have a doctor waiting to see you. It will be all right, my peach. It'll be all right."


	22. Chapter 22

Concierge doctors to rich alphas in movies were always middle aged alphas hardened and made bitter by life. Zitao was not expecting Doctor Yukhei Wong to be a young, smiling beta. But considering how he didn't so much as blink at Zitao's being covered in blood, a large quantity not his own, or flinch when Yifan hovered directly behind him during the examination, he had a decent amount of experience.

He spent a lot of time on Zitao's shoulder, checking mobility and asking if this or that caused more pain or lessened it. Finally he declared the shoulder bruised with a light muscle sprain, but nothing to be overly concerned over. Nothing ice, limiting mobility, muscle relaxants, and a few over the counter pain meds couldn't cure. And he could prescribe stronger pain medication, if desired.

It was impossible to say if Yifan had his own doubts or if he reacted to the uncertainty on Zitao's face. But he towered over the doctor and asked just how certain he felt about his assessment of Zitao's shoulder. To which Wong smiled and answered he was confident enough to give the diagnosis knowing an overprotective alpha would likely tear out his throat if he was wrong. That went a long way in giving Zitao confidence in him and his diagnosis.

The doctor proceeded to clean and bandage Zitao's wrists and hands, and a few other bad scrapes Zitao hadn't taken notice of. He was thorough in his examination, and eased into prodding Zitao's stomach and asking questions about how he felt when pressure was applied. There was a small amount of visible bruising on Zitao's middle, but not the dark footprint Zitao had feared he would find. It was the memory of the kick that hurt more than the reality of it now.

"Try not to tense your abdominal muscles while I'm doing this," Wong said as he pressed his thumb just above one of Zitao's hipbones. He glanced up and gave a smile as he tried to lighten the mood. "I know it can be difficult when you're half naked in front of your alpha and being poked by a stranger."

Yifan actually growled and Wong let off that line of humor.

It was surreal sitting on the end of Yifan's bed in nothing but his shorts and a sling, someone kneeling in front of him and feeling his stomach, with Yifan presiding over it all with a glower. On one hand, Zitao was accustomed to doctors examining him to determine his fertility. On the other, he felt the intense urge to push Wong away while Yifan loomed.

"How long ago did your heat break?" Wong asked as he sat back on his heels, resting his hand on his knees.

"Less than a week ago?" Zitao said, glancing at Yifan for confirmation.

"Five days," Yifan said.

The doctor nodded as he reached into his bag and pulled out a hard case kit for taking blood. "Quick tests will be inconclusive, so I'll take a blood sample and have the lab I work with run it. But reality is, it may still be too early to know for sure."

Zitao felt his shoulders slump. At least the one the doctor hadn't put in a sling to keep it immobile.

"Why is it too early?" Yifan demanded.

"The increased hormones from an omega's heat take up to a week to return to normal levels," Wong answered, not flinching from Yifan's tone. "Those are the same hormones we test to test verify a pregnancy. Though five days may have been long enough."

Zitao held out his unobstructed arm for the doctor to find a vein. He was shaking a little as exhaustion set in. He wanted to lay down.

"I will say," Wong said as he went about preparing Zitao's arm to draw blood. "Being kicked in the stomach, or kicked at all, is inadvisable in any stage of pregnancy, and miscarriages are sometimes difficult to notice so early. But you're not having cramping or back pain, and that's good. If either starts, you should contact me immediately." He crinkled his nose as he started looking at the needles in his case. "Also, you're recently out of an Omega House?"

Zitao felt tension between his shoulder blades as he thought of his former home. "Yes. I came here with Yifan five or six days ago."

"During your heat?" Wong asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

That made Zitao blush as he nodded. "Is that a problem?"

"No, but it is odd," he said. "They usually time the departure of omegas shortly after their heat passes."

"You're trying to imply something," Yifan said before Zitao could admit it hadn't really been planned. "Spit it out."

The doctor puckered his lips and said nothing as he drew blood. "May I be candid?" he asked once he was finished, glancing over his shoulder at Yifan.

Yifan's expression said no, but he waved for Wong to say whatever he need.

"I don't know about your particular Omega House," Wong said to Zitao as he kept working. "But a fair number of them put oral contraceptives in the food. To ensure omegas don't get pregnant before formal offers of mating are made, but they can still entice and have alphas help them in their heats. That's why a lot of Houses wait until after a heat when an alpha offers for them, so there is time for the contraceptive to wear off before the next heat."

Zitao felt his heart sink and he blinked at a sting in his eyes. He'd never really thought about it, but that would make sense. They always told him he was highly fertile, but he'd never had a pregnancy scare, not even with all the alphas he'd needed for his frequent, painful heats. They couldn't have all remembered to use condoms. Actually he didn't have any idea of how many of them had or had not. They were supposed to, it was in the rules.

"Move."

Doctor Wong managed to spring out of the way without dropping anything as Yifan stepped forward to take his place in front of Zitao. "It's all right," Yifan said as he stroked Zitao's hair, stroked the nape of his neck. "You're my mate. If you're not pregnant now, you will be soon. I certainly don't mind trying."

Zitao wrapped his good arm around Yifan's waist as he hid his face against his alpha's midsection. The spiced scent of sandalwood soothed him even as his breath hitched. He wanted to think his nausea was due the pain from his shoulder. "But I wanted to be," Zitao said. Somehow the idea his food had been tainted to prevent him from having Yifan's child felt worse than being kicked in the stomach and losing it.

The doctor cleared his throat. "I'll still run tests and let you know what I find. It's possible your House didn't use such methods."

"I have a source to find that out," Yifan said, his tone dark.

Zitao pulled away from Yifan and used the back of his bandaged wrist to wipe at his damp eyes. "Wait. I still got my heat and oral suppressants make me sick. How could I..."

This time, Doctor Wong looked uncomfortable. He glanced at Yifan, who had that cold, imperious look on his face that Zitao found handsome, but seemed to unnerve and intimidate others. "Well," Wong said, clearing his throat while he knelt and started packing his bag. "The term suppressants and contraceptives are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are quite different. Suppressants minimize, or suppress, symptoms of heat. Omegas are actually just as fertile while on suppressants, but since no outward signs of fertility are exhibited for an alpha to note, and the omega isn't feeling the need to mate, often the opportunity is missed. But contraceptives are the opposite. They allow omegas to show outward signs of fertility, going into heat and exhibiting symptoms that excite a response in alphas, but prevents conception."

"They let us take suppressants if we could," Zitao said with a frown. "Why wouldn't they just tell us about the contraceptives?"

"People who run Omega Houses are assholes?" Wong said with a shrug. "Sorry, I'm not qualified to answer that question."

Yifan's hand was still on Zitao's neck, kneading thoughtfully. "Doctor, Zitao's heat causes him pain at the outset. Are you saying he would be just as fertile without it?"

"You don't want your mate to go into heat?" Wong said, sounding as dumbfounded as Zitao felt.

"I don't want him in pain," Yifan said, a warning in his tone that quickly gentled as he spoke to Zitao. "You said the suppressant shots don't make you sick, correct?"

"Yes," Zitao said with a nod, a hand clutched in Yifan's shirt as he looked up at his alpha. "But I'm not worried about my heats if you'll take care of me."

The slight curl at the corner of Yifan's lips made desire pool low in Zitao's stomach and his cheeks warm. "I'll definitely take care of you," Yifan said, "but if you don't need to be in pain, it is worth having the conversation." He glanced over at Wong, who was focused on his bag. "Well?"

"Shots need to be given within forty-eight hours before a heat starts to be effective," he said, looking at Zitao. "Are you regular?"

"Every twenty days," Zitao said. Though his heat had gone on longer this time when no alpha but Yifan would come to him. He didn't know how that would effect his cycle.

"Less than a month between," Wong said. "Ah. Chongfu Syndrome."

"What?"

"Frequent heats and pain in heat are symptoms of Chongfu Syndrome."

"What does that mean?" Yifan asked, his voice threateningly low as he pulled Zitao close.

"It means both Zitao's parents carried the recessive gene for it," Wong answered most unhelpfully. "That's quite rare."

"The doctors always said I was healthy," Zitao whispered, eyes wide.

"Oh, you're in excellent health, other than the injuries you sustained today," Wong said, holding up both hands to placate Zitao and ward off whatever look Yifan gave him. "Omegas with Chongfu Syndrome tend to have immune systems on the level of alphas and produce highly viable offspring."

Zitao stared at the doctor and shook his head, cheek rubbing against Yifan's shirt. "The doctors at the House always told me they didn't know what was wrong with me."

Doctor Wong rolled his eyes. "The test to verify the diagnosis tend to be expensive. Most Omega Houses won't do it. Considering what Mr. Wu is paying me to be here, he isn't cheap. I can have the sample I took tested for that as well as the pregnancy. Higher levels of hormones will actually help on that one."

"Do it," Yifan said.

That made Wong's smile return as he took several pill bottles from his bag. "I should have results by tomorrow. For now, here is a muscle relaxant, which will cause drowsiness, and anti-nausea tablets to be used as needed. There's also a painkiller here that won't react badly with the muscle relaxant. I don't think Zitao needs it, but if he wakes up hurting, take one. If the pain doesn't subside, call me."

Yifan nodded as he dismissed the doctor. Wong gave a bow as he gathered his bag and left.

"How are you feeling?" Yifan asked as he knelt down in front of Zitao. He rested one hand on Zitao's knee, his other stroking Zitao's waist.

"Sore and... sad," Zitao admitted as he ran a hand over his bicep. His shoulder did feel better in the sling. "And angry."

The way Yifan said, "Tell me who you're angry with," was like he wanted a list to deal with. After Zitao thought about it for a moment, that might have been exactly what Yifan wanted. Zitao met his alpha's - his mate's - eyes and gave a wan smile. Yifan's hand moved to cradle his cheek. "Be selfish, Zitao. What do you want?"

Zitao pursed his lips. "I want to be pregnant," he answered softly. To which Yifan murmured he might still be, and would be soon enough. "I want the doctors to have told me there might be, even if they couldn't test it, a reason my heat acts like it does. I want..." He let out a breath and shook his head, feeling dizzy. He didn't need any pills to make him feel drowsy, exhaustion was hitting him hard. "I want to rest a bit. Can you stay with me? For a little while?"

"Of course," Yifan said, rising and helping Zitao beneath the bed covers. He went to get water for Zitao to take some pills. "I won't leave without your knowing."

"Just don't leave," Zitao said as Yifan laid down on top of the blankets beside him.

"There are things I will need to personally take care of, eventually."

"Take me with you when you do," he said, pulling Yifan's arm across him like another blanket.

"Zitao..."

"If I'm with you," Zitao said, his eyes falling shut as everything floated. Yifan must have given him a pain pill. "I can't get into trouble without you."

"Mm," was Yifan's noncommittal response.

\---

Sorry this chapter wandered a little. Also, I intend to keep posting on weekends, but I have stuff going down in real life and may miss a few. Sorry.


	23. Chapter 23

There were matters that required Yifan's personal attention, but the idea of leaving Zitao even for a moment was torment. His omega needed him. His mate needed him.

The medication made Zitao drowsy and he slept at least twelve hours a day, but he was going stir crazy in his waking hours. His arm in a sling and the bruises, which had darkened considerably, meant no strenuous physical activity for a while longer. Meaning he couldn't workout in the gym to clear his head. Watching him pace around the penthouse looking for something to hold his attention and finding everything lacking, Yifan had a clearer picture of why Zitao'd been so inclined to run off to the Omega House to see his friend after only a half day of being on his own.

Zitao needed more hobbies.

Or Yifan was going to have to consider the feasibility of his omega becoming a permanent part of his entourage. The idea had merit. Zitao had more than proven he could handle himself in a fight and stressful situations. And he had, unfortunately, now seen some of the darkest Wu family dealings first hand, so there was no need to keep secrets on that account. The twins could instruct him in the finer aspects of their work, spotting suspicious activity and how to tell if a person was armed, armed how, and best ways to disarm them. Not that Yifan precisely wanted his mate to double as a bodyguard, his alpha sensibilities rankled, but he was sure the training would interest Zitao and keep him safer. It was something to consider.

Zitao was currently stretched out on the living room couch, dozing in the sun after a chat with his friend, Jia.

Show Lo had provided the female omega a phone so she and Zitao could communicate when they wished. Qian had sent Cao Lu to see she was comfortable and the presence of Yifan's bodyguards didn't frighten her. It seems she was all right. Her feet had been attended, and she was to remain off them for a while. But the hotel was a delight to her, food whenever she called for it, and a bunch of people waiting on _her_ without a single comment about her being an omega. Her happiness soothed one layer of Zitao's stress, and Yifan encouraged his mate to speak with Jia as much as he liked.

It also happened she had an incredible memory, and had been very helpful in looking through photos and pointing out alphas she'd seen in the Omega House during Ying Yu's takeover. Also alphas she remembered coming in and out of Zitao's room during his heats. Yifan had use for such a good memory. The Omega House would be a safe place for her when this was all over, but if she didn't want to go back, he had a few jobs that would be a good fit for her.

Yifan sat down on the couch next to his mate. He watched Zitao's eyes flutter open, not quite awake, and the omega smile up at him. Those half-conscious smiles made Yifan's heart skip a beat. Zitao shifted to use Yifan's thigh as a pillow and inhaled deep before dozing again. Yifan leaned over and took a breath as well. The cherry blossom scent was a hint sweeter when Zitao was asleep.

He reached and caressed the curve of Zitao's cheek, his jaw, down to his neck. Zitao sighed and rolled his head to the side, nuzzling Yifan's hip, but not stirring otherwise. Yifan lightly ran his fingers over the straps of the sling, where it crossed Zitao's chest diagonally, and then horizontally to keep his shoulder immobile. He let his hand move lower, over Zitao's forearm resting on his upper abdomen, before resting low on his stomach. His palm rested against the thin material of Zitao's shirt, fingers splayed over a pocket of his black jeans.

Doctor Wong's tests confirmed the diagnosis Zitao had Chongfu Syndrome, which Zitao found upsetting. Yifan was fine with it, so long as he had the facts. Facts could be researched, planned for, and dealt with. The pregnancy test, however, had been inconclusive, as expected. But Yifan had his people get answers from Li, who was more cooperative after his meeting Yifan, probably not wanting to do so again. Zitao's former caseworker admitted contraceptives were put in the food, which meant Zitao was almost certainly not pregnant.

Yifan let out a sigh.

Rationally, it was better this way. They could have the bonding ceremony and be working toward having a child. There would be no validity to rumors he had taken Zitao as a mate because he was pregnant. Emotionally, he'd wanted Zitao to be pregnant nearly as much as his omega had wanted to be pregnant. But after seeing how dark a bruise had spread over Zitao's abdomen from the kick, he was glad they weren't losing a child.

Zitao hadn't taken the news well. He'd still held hope. Last night, while they lay in bed, Zitao had pressed his face into Yifan's neck. Yifan had to grit his teeth to politely ignore the distraught sniffles his omega was trying to hide. "I'd have taken the contraceptives if they offered," Zitao admitted. "They didn't have to trick us. Now it just feels like I lost chances instead of had a choice."

Yifan silently admitted to some conflict on the matter. He was angry for Zitao and disgusted with the practice, of course, and was going to wring the neck of whoever had made the policy. But he was also grateful no one else had the opportunity to impregnate his mate before he could do it himself. "You can make your choice now, and we have lots of chances ahead," Yifan promised. Zitao had nodded, only mildly consoled. If Zitao's shoulder hadn't been in the damn sling, Yifan might have suggested they practice so they could make the most when those chances came around. He was looking forward to that sling no longer being necessary.

His phone vibrated and Yifan glanced at the screen, exhaling through his nose when he saw Qian's information. He doubted his cousin was calling to give him any good news. She certainly hadn't any for him the last dozen times he spoke with her. Yifan let the call go to voicemail as he found a pillow and slowly put it under Zitao's head as he got up from the couch. The omega let out a plaintive sound, but settled after a moment. Yifan reached down and brushed dark hair away from Zitao's forehead before stepped away to call Qian back.

"Am I going to regret returning your call?" Yifan asked as he went to his office, not shutting the door.

"I would if I were you," Qian said with a laugh; then let out an aggravated sigh. "These fucking Zhangs."

Zhoumi had easily tracked the trucks Ying Yu sent from the Omega House to a warehouse district in Zhang controlled territory, and annexed the area so no one could come or go without Wu approval. The Zhangs were in a fury about it, and Yifan couldn't fault them, but they were also being stubborn. Yifan had authorized Qian to make a cash exchange simply to have done with it, even though he didn't want to have financial connection to this nightmare his aunt had created. But the Zhangs refused.

"Yifan," Qian said, and he could just imagine that annoyed pucker of her lips. "They won't formally meet with me."

"But they were willing to deal with Ying Yu behind my back," he snarled at her as he slammed his fist against a wall. Outrageous.

Qian gave a snort. "Because of her seniority and good dealings with the Zhangs in the past, I'm told," she said, tone mimicking whoever had informed her of such. "But we both know it was all probably just old man Zhang spiting you for not being your alpha-father."

"Consider me successfully spited."

The former head of the Wu family and Zhifeng Zhang had been 'thick as thieves,' as the saying went. Zhifeng did not approve of the direction Yifan was taking the Wu family, heavily diversifying in legal enterprises and completely putting a stop to old activities, such as trafficking. Not to mention Zhifeng was one of those alphas who felt a need to assert his dominance at all times, over everyone. He should have retired and left the running of the Zhang family to his heir ages ago, except his chosen blood heir had run off and shown no sign of returning, and Zhifeng was dismissing all other candidates.

"He'll send a representative to discuss the matter," Qian said, "but only with the _head_ of the Wu family."

"He can send a representative but I can't?"

Qian let out a sound of frustration. "He's being a knot-head about it, I can't change that." She sighed. "Look, I know you don't want to be far from Zitao right now, I get it. But this is the best I can get you with the Zhangs. The only other option we have is using force, and we can do that, but..."

Yifan didn't need her to explain her hesitance. It would mean an all out war with the Zhangs. And while Yifan was not shy about the option, and confident the Wu's would persevere, it wasn't ideal. They needed to get their forces in order, figure out who had aligned with Ying Yu and who sympathized with her. (Yifan's uncles claimed they had nothing to do with their sister's machinations, but that didn't mean they were telling the truth. Yifan was confident most of his cousins would fall in line behind him, even Ying Yu's son. Of course, Yue had reasons to hate his alpha-mother more than most.) Still, he had enough loyal alphas to retrieve the omegas by militant means, but if the Zhangs counterattacked immediately after, it could mean heavy losses. Not to mention a lot more of Zitao's omega friends were likely to be worse off than they were now.

"Who would they send?" Yifan asked. No point in even considering leaving Zitao's side if they were sending someone unreasonable.

"Fei, most likely. Liu Wei and Sheng are hoping for an all out war."

If Yixing never came back to be head of the Zhang family and the old man died without choosing an heir, Fei would be who Yifan would choose to support in the ensuing power struggle. She knew it, too. She might not be agreeable, but she would want to keep Yifan's favor. "Set up the meeting," he said at last. "I want those all the omegas returned and this over and done with. Zhoumi's still monitoring?"

"No one comes or goes without us knowing," Qian confirmed. "I'll work on getting the meet set up."

"Anything else?"

"Auntie is demanding to see you."

"Tell her I will deal with her at _my_ leisure," Yifan snapped.

"Will do."

Yifan ended the call and tossed his phone onto the desk in frustration as he flung himself down into the desk chair, its leather creaking. He ran a hand through his hair and managed not to show surprise when he found Zitao was standing in the office doorway, staring at him.

"It's not polite to eavesdrop," he said with a half-smile.

"The door was open," was Zitao's headstrong reply. "And the sunbeam wasn't as comfortable with you." That softened Yifan inside. "Can I go with you?"

The question didn't surprise him any more than Zitao's blank expression when he asked. It was the look of someone expecting to be turned down and not wanting to show disappointment. "Come here," Yifan said, lifting a hand to beckon Zitao over to him.

Zitao seemed almost hesitant to cross the threshold, but walked confidently once he did. Yifan bid him closer, until Zitao came all the way around the desk so he could drag the omega down to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around his mate's waist and inhaled the sweet scent of him. Zitao shifted to find a comfortable way to rest his good shoulder against Yifan's chest, and Yifan attempted not to enjoy the wriggling in his lap. Oh, how Yifan was looking forward to the Doctor giving his mate a clean bill of health.

"That call was about everyone from the Omega House, wasn't it?" Zitao asked, an adorable pucker of a frown on his lips. "You're going to talk to someone about them."

"I am," Yifan said as he slid his thumb along the waist of Zitao's jeans. "It would not be a good idea for you to come along."

"I don't want to stay here alone," Zitao said softly.

"I could have your friend and Cao Lu come over to keep you company when I go."

Zitao's dark eyes flashed toward him irritably. "I want to stay near you."

The words almost made Yifan purr as he shook his head. "It's not a good idea. The Zhangs are not... gentle. They have no respect for anyone who isn't an alpha."

"Most alphas don't," Zitao said.

"The Zhangs are on a different level," Yifan said as he scowled. He didn't want to go into detail. Zitao was, rightfully, concerned enough about his friends.

"Then you should piss them off by bringing me along," Zitao said, resting his head on Yifan's shoulder. "They won't touch me if I'm yours."

"You _are_ mine," Yifan growled.

Zitao nuzzled his neck. Yifan didn't hate the idea completely. The idea of Zitao near the Zhangs was awful, but arriving with his omega mate would be a statement. "How is your shoulder feeling?" he asked.

"Better. The sling helps, even if I hate it."

He ran a hand up along Zitao's spine as he imagined the expression on the Zhangs' faces. "Going with me is dangerous. You'll have to keep your temper and stay quiet," he said, knowing from experience neither was easy to accomplish. "You can't speak out of turn and undermine my authority, and they will probably say things to try and goad you into a misstep." He turned his head and brushed his lips over Zitao's temple. "I might have to be harsh with you in front of them."

Zitao relaxed against him, his scent heavy in the air. "Please," he said in a low whisper. "I really don't want to be apart from you right now. I'll do whatever you need me to do."

Yifan didn't think he could deny Zitao anything in that moment, and that held a great deal of potential danger.

\---

Thanks to everyone still reading. You're all wonderful!


	24. Chapter 24

There was a lot more involved in meeting with the Zhang representative than Zitao expected.

Once the meeting was agreed upon, a process took place to agree upon neutral ground. After that was decided, both sides were allowed an opportunity to send people to assess its level of security. The chosen location was Cafe Moon in Huang controlled territory, which had an enclosed garden in the back and access only from the front of the store. There was no overhead covering in the garden, but the twins confirmed there was also line of sight from the surrounding buildings for snipers to take accurate shots into the garden. Then there were a half dozen other details Zitao thought ridiculous, and, all told, it took a day and a half to set up a meeting between two people.

Meanwhile, Zitao spent his time sleeping, pacing, and fretting about what was happening to everyone from the Omega House. No one told him anything, but after how Ying Yu threatened, he had vivid nightmares. He felt terrible in those rare moments when he was grateful he and Jia weren't with the rest, but he couldn't help the feeling. The stress did give him some distraction from his not being pregnant because the opportunity had been stolen from him. Not to mention discovering he had a condition no one ever told him about, regardless of how many times he'd been poked and prodded to assess his fertility.

He had a dozen question for Doctor Wong, none of which he remembered the two additional times the doctor came to check on him. Wong did assure him that, even though it was inconvenient, Chongfu Syndrome was overall a procreational advantage. But that didn't stop Zitao from having concerns. What if he passed it on to his children? It wouldn't matter for an alpha or even a beta, of course, but if he had an omega... Alpha lines like the Wus tended to run strong, or pure, as some liked to say, but that didn't mean it couldn't happen. And that idea gave him a bunch of other concerns he didn't know how to ask Yifan about.

Zitao huffed out a sigh as he laid across Yifan's bed, attempting to rest in a way that wouldn't wrinkle his new black pants and white silk shirt. He winced as he jarred his shoulder. He wasn't wearing the sling for the first time in days, and he hated admitting it, but he needed to be using it a while longer. Keeping his arm still without reminder was something he was bad at.

However, for the meeting with the Zhangs there could be no show of weakness in the Wu ranks. Zitao had to be casual enough not to show injury, and cautious enough not to aggravate it further. The way Yifan informed him, he clearly wanted Zitao to reconsider going along, but Zitao would not.

He knew he was being clingy, and that could be dangerous, but Zitao felt better when Yifan was near enough he could smell the fresh rain and sandalwood of his alpha. It made the drowsiness caused by the medication and the inactivity bearable. It helped keep the fears at bay. He appreciated Yifan's indulgence.

There had been a lot of cautionary tales at the Omega House, many from mated omegas who would visit and talk about proper behavior. (Luhan, Jia, and Zitao hated those lectures.) Omegas were supposed to get pregnant as soon as possible to prove themselves useful. They were supposed to be available for sex, even when they weren't in heat, so their alpha wouldn't get bored. Zitao was currently failing very hard at being a proper omega. He wasn't pregnant and Yifan wasn't having sex with him because of the bruises and his shoulder.

"You're worried about something," Yifan said, stepping out of the walk-in closet in a dark blue suit and glancing at himself in the mirror, "and it's not the Zhangs."

Zitao didn't reply as he slid off the bed and walked over, looking at his own reflection next to Yifan. It was probably a little vain, but they looked good standing together. "How's your shoulder," Yifan asked, not commenting on his lack of response.

"Better," Zitao said as he plucked at a string on Yifan's shoulder. "It's still sore, though."

"Do you want to wear your sling in the car?"

"No. It's fine. I'll keep it as immobile as I can."

Yifan nodded as he gave Zitao's reflection a once over. "You're almost as stunning dressed as naked," he said as he eyed the fitted white short sleeve shirt with the Mandarin collar and the black slacks that were just short of clinging indecently to Zitao's thighs. The clothes did look good on him, but, more importantly, they were easy to move in if anything went amiss and he needed to run or fight.

Zitao frowned at Yifan's navy suit jacket, perfectly tailored to show off Yifan's broad shoulders, but how it pulled across tight Yifan's back was certain to hinder him. He ran his hand over Yifan's shoulder blades as he leaned in and rubbed his cheek on the alpha's shoulder.

"Making sure your scent is on me?" Yifan asked, one corner of his mouth pulling upward.

Zitao hadn't been, but the idea was appealing as he rubbed his cheek a bit more vigorously. "Is that a problem?"

The other side of Yifan's mouth pulled upward as well. "Not if you don't mind me reciprocating," he said as he turned and slid an arm around Zitao's waist to drag him close, so they stood chest to chest. Zitao could feel the buttons on Yifan's shirt through his own. Then Yifan's lips were on Zitao's and devouring him, wicked tongue sliding into Zitao's mouth. Zitao responded eagerly by tilting his head to the side and teasing the tip of his tongue along Yifan's probing one. The arm around Zitao's waist flexed and pulled their bodies more firmly together even as Yifan drew away from the kiss, nuzzling Zitao's hair. "You smell good right now. If we go much further, you'll be irresistible."

"And that's a problem?" Zitao teased as he ran his nose from beneath Yifan's ear, down the side of his neck.

"It wouldn't be if I could toss you on that bed," he said as he dragged his tongue over the shell of Zitao's ear before descending to that spot on Zitao's neck, covered by the high collar. He grazed his teeth over it through the fabric. "Sadly, we have a thankless task to attend, and you are still healing."

"I'm not as fragile as you think," Zitao moaned as he stretched his neck.

Yifan growled as he laid a kiss on Zitao's jaw. "Oh, little peach, I don't think you're fragile at all. I simply want you at full strength."

Zitao blushed, smoothing a hand between them, over one of Yifan's lapels. "I want your knot."

The hand on Zitao's hip clutched hard. "You shouldn't say things like that, it's dangerous," Yifan said. There was a look in his dark eyes that made Zitao's insides tighten and his body stir as a shiver ran through him. The spiced scent of sandalwood filled the air. Yifan moaned in his ear. "We can't do this right now."

Zitao felt his lips twist in a pout even as he nodded. "Then you should let me go, because I'm starting to get wet."

Yifan nipped at one of his studs. "Saying it that way does not incline me to let you go," he said, even as he released Zitao and gave his appearance one more look. "Let's go."

Over Yifan's shoulder, Zitao gave himself another glance in the mirror as well before they left the penthouse to go downstairs. Yifan's twin bodyguards and Show Lo were already outside waiting in the car and they set out to the meet. Zitao drowsed while Yifan and Show Lo discussed monetary and other concessions that could be made, the sort of things that would be hard to trace back to the Wus but still hold value to the Zhangs. When Zitao blinked his eyes open again, Yifan was on the phone with Zhoumi asking about how the situation at the warehouse was, if there had been any new movement.

"How's Jia?" Zitao asked Show Lo in a soft voice. He didn't want to overhear Yifan's half of that conversation.

"You talk to her regularly," Show Lo said as he tucked his phone away, but he flashed a smile. "As of this morning, Jia is fine. Her feet are improving every day, and she can walk around." He gave a wink. "She asks about you as well."

"I miss her," Zitao said as he noticed the secretary was dressed to his usual standard, and not as particular as the rest of them. "Aren't you going in with us?"

"Oh no," Show Lo said, reflexively rubbing at the side of his face. "If I can help it, I only deal with Zhangs over electronic mediums or in the main office, where they are required to be on their best behavior or I can have some strapping Wu alphas toss them out."

"Are the Zhangs really that bad?"

"Yes," Show Lo said without hesitation. "Nothing is more important to them than whether you're an alpha or not; and you're nothing if you're not."

"Do you think they've been awful to the omegas from the House?" Zitao asked in a low whisper.

Show Lo didn't respond directly as his eyes darted to Yifan. He didn't answer as Yifan's hand landed on the back of Zitao's neck, his thumb stroking along the line of the collar. Zitao was drawn against Yifan's side and the rest of the ride was without conversation.

They arrived at Cafe Moon five minutes behind schedule and waited while the twins made sure nothing had been altered from the initial safety inspection. There was a creeping tension in the air. Yifan's expression became hard, his gaze distant and cold. "Are you sure you won't stay in the car with Show Lo?" he asked, giving Zitao's neck one more comforting squeeze before he let go.

"If you say I have to," Zitao said.

Yifan sighed but gave no such order.

Show Lo wished them luck as they got out, Zitao following Yifan at arm's length. They went inside the empty British style cafe, passing through it and out into the garden seating area with its high walls covered in vines. All the tables had been moved to the perimeter, except for one made of white wrought iron with a glass top. It was in the center of the area with two chairs of matching white. One held an attractive female alpha in a pale blue shirt and casual slacks drinking from a delicate porcelain cup. She glanced from her drink, setting it down on the saucer and rising as Yifan entered.

"Fei," Yifan said.

"Yifan," she replied as they each bowed slightly to the other and took their seats. Her dark brown eyes slid to Zitao. "An omega is an interesting choice in entourage."

"I didn't come here to discuss my choices in retinue," Yifan said in a clipped way.

Fei smiled politely and watched as Zitao moved off to the side. The twins had stationed themselves near to Yifan's chair and Zitao didn't want to be in the way, he leaned against one of the flowering slatted walls on what appeared to be the Wu side of the space. In addition to Fei there were three other Zhangs, all male alphas, in a loose half-circle to guard her. Zitao kept his chin raised and his expression neutral, and pretended not to notice the way they stared at him. Two of them got over the oddity of his presence after a moment and went back to mirroring the twins as professional bodyguards, menacing and physically present. But the third kept on leering.

There was a clink of porcelain on porcelain again as Fei picked up her cup. "The contract with Ying Yu is good. I've had a chance to look at it personally. If you are doing away with her, we have no arguments. That's your family business, after all. However, it has prevented her from fulfilling her part of the deal, and only makes sense we keep the merchandise as forfeit, to compensate us for our losses and breach of contract."

Tension pulled across Zitao's shoulder blades at her cool tone, but he managed not to react. Show Lo was right. The Zhangs clearly considered the kidnapped omega and betas as nothing but things. He felt angry heat rising in his cheeks, and almost missed how the Zhang alpha who couldn't stop looking at him had moved closer. Not too close, but near enough Zitao could catch a whiff of a cut grass scent at odds with the floral fragrance of the garden.

"If this was about simple compensation," Yifan said, "your family would have accepted the cash offer I authorized Qian to make days ago."

"That offer didn't account for the interest. Or for having to keep them stored and fed. Nor for the humiliation the Zhang family has had to endure before the other Triad families as the Wus push us around on our own territory," Fei said, a bit of temper showing in her voice on the last bit. "You have to admit, Yifan, the Zhangs have handled all of this remarkably well. I doubt you would have tolerated it."

"I'd never have knowingly been put in the situation," Yifan replied coolly. "I don't trade in people."

"We're not debating morality."

Yifan growled and the Zhang alphas stiffened, ready to leap to Fei's defense. "Then let's debate the Zhangs dealing with Ying Yu behind my back, knowing full well I no longer allow trafficking. You have to admit, I'm handling that remarkably well."

Fei pursed her lips and set down her cup, folding her hands in her lap as she rested against the back of her chair. "I acknowledge the deal should not have been struck. Sheng made it and he will be disciplined." The alpha that had been eyeing Zitao glared at her, but Fei didn't so much as blink "It still was struck by legitimate members of our families and we need to find away to satisfy both our needs or agree to war terms."

"What do you want, Fei?" Yifan asked, also leaning back in his chair.

"Territory. The wharf..."

Zitao rubbed his neck and tuned out the discussion as he looked at the colorful rows of flowers in the garden. In part, he couldn't stand listening to people he knew being discussed like chattel, and he didn't understand how territory worked among the Triads. The other part was his shoulder was bothering him. He was keeping it loose at his side, and he didn't think the injury was obvious, but the tension in his shoulder blades was making the muscles twitch uncomfortably.

It was one of the twins shifting that alerted him to the fact the leering Zhang alpha had subtly come even closer. He was still out of reach as Zitao made the mistake of looking at him. The alpha grinned and made a show of inhaling deep. "You're from that House, too. I think I fucked you once," he said in a low growl.

There were two reasons Zitao didn't slam his elbow into the alpha's nose. The first was it would have put him in arm's reach. The second was the alpha was on his injured side and the idea of lifting his arm that high made him nauseous. Instead, he kept his expression neutral other than the narrowing of his eyes, and tried to tamp down on his internal panic wondering if he had taken the alpha during his heat and if Yifan would be angry.

The garden was eerily silent other than the twitter of a couple birds in decorative cages.

"Fei," Yifan said, his voice dangerously calm. "If you don't get your dog under control, I will have him put down."

"Liu Wei, back off, now," Fei said, her face furious.

"It's just an omega," Liu Wei snapped back.

Yifan's chair shoved back, but it was Fei who was on her feet and over to them in a flash. She grabbed the front of the alpha's shirt and leaned in, growling into his ear low enough Zitao barely heard her. "Do you want to challenge my authority right now, little brother? Is today the day you'll actually win?" Liu Wei didn't reply, but his shoulders fell in defeat. "Then get back in line and cause no more trouble."

Fei released him and went back to her seat as Liu Wei slunk back to the other Zhangs with as much pride as he could muster, which wasn't much. "My apologies," she said as she smoothed a wrinkle in her shirt. "That was discourteous." She sighed, shaking her head. "But why would you bring an omega to this meeting, Yifan?"

There was a short moment where Yifan did not reply as he glared past her at Liu Wei and Zitao could feel the anger radiating from him. Then he looked at Zitao and lifted a hand, beckoning him over. Zitao blinked and hid his nerves as he approached. "Perhaps I should have introduced Zitao earlier," Yifan said. Zitao came to stand next to his chair and Yifan reached for his hand, shocking everyone, including Zitao, by kissing the back of it. "This is my mate."

"You don't have a mate," Fei said quickly, even as she raised an eyebrow and reassessed Zitao.

"This mess has delayed the formality of our bonding ceremony," Yifan said, placing Zitao's hand on his shoulder. "But, I assure you, I have a mate."

Fei nodded, still regarding Zitao. He could almost see the calculations running in her head. "Congratulations. It's quite the feat to capture an alpha like Yifan."

Yifan's hand was still on top of his and squeezed lightly for him to respond. Zitao flushed and bowed his head. "Thank you." The heat in his cheeks had turned to a kind of shy delight.

Fei's attention returned to Yifan and was softer now. "Fine. In light of this news... The wharf and monetary settlement, then," she said. "I can allow your people two hours full access to the warehouses to reclaim the omegas. There's nothing else stored there at present."

"Suddenly you're so accommodating," Yifan said, frowning slightly. "I don't trust it."

The smile Fei gave was tight and didn't suit her pretty lips. "Consider it a mating gift," she said, nodding to Zitao. "I am guessing your intended is from that Omega House and wants his friends back, and you mean to give him that at any cost. The head of my family will understand if I report this was not a simple Wu squabble we're involved in." There was a slight twitch at the corner of her eye that said the head of the Zhang family would not actually understand. "You should have said it involved an omega - your omega - from the start, not just infighting with your defiant aunt."

Yifan drummed his fingers on the glass tabletop. "You thought I was bluffing about taking them back by force," he said, clearly displeased.

Fei shook her head. "No, I know you would have. However, I thought you'd be practical about it and the damage could be contained. The Zhang family could appeal to the other Triad families about unfounded Wu aggression and diminish your authority." She waved her hand to dismiss the idea. "But no one will side with us if it was a dispute involving an omega you're taking as a formal mate. How many operas have been written about such folly? I'm cutting our losses. The deal Sheng made with Ying Yu was a piece of shit anyway."

Zitao could feel the tension in Yifan's shoulder and gave a light squeeze. His alpha gave him a glance up at him and sighed.

\---

Sorry about the intermittent chapters lately, May is kicking my butt. But I really appreciate everyone who is reading. :)


	25. Chapter 25

Yifan shoved a stack of documents to one side of the desk as he leaned back and shut his eyes.

Since the meeting with Fei, he had spent the last week trying to put all the Wu family assets to rights, both licit and illicit sides, and catch up on all the paperwork and meetings he had been missing. Not to mention acknowledging the copious congratulations and inquiries coming in after two separate Hong Kong news outlets ran the pictures of him biting ‘an unnamed omega’ on the street.

He’d been efficient in getting his work done and now the only outstanding matter was how to deal with his aunt. But, as being kept under lock and key without knowing her fate was the worst he could come up with at present, he put off making decisions on Ying Yu a while longer. At least until after he had his bonding ceremony. Then he could tell her all about how he and Zitao were formally mated, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

Yifan opened his eyes and glanced at the empty couch in his office.

It was the first day in a week Zitao was more than a few minutes away from him. His omega had been coming into the office with him, since Yifan couldn’t stay away any longer and Zitao refused to be left alone. (As he had run off into quite possibly the most awful situation Yifan could have imagined last time he was on his own, Yifan wasn’t inclined to argue.) Zitao spent a lot of time dozing on the couch, still healing from his ordeal, with increasing daily forays to investigate the building. He’d found Qian and Cao Lu’s offices on his own, as well as the gym on the second floor. And yesterday Show Lo gave him an official tour, and made sure everyone was aware of whom Zitao was and that he only answered to one person.

Today, Qian and Cao Lu had gone to see how things were going with the resettled omegas, and offered to take Jia and Zitao along. Yifan was half-surprised when Zitao accepted, but hadn’t tried to dissuade him, just sent along the twins to make sure there were no issues.

Yifan got up from his desk and went over to the couch. The sweet scent of Zitao lingered strongest here.

He was glad the issue of the taken omegas was finally settled. Zhifeng was furious not to be at war, but did not renege on Fei’s bargain. Zhoumi’s people had gone in that same day and retrieved the omegas and staff members. Only one omega and two of the staff were unaccounted for. Further investigation indicated the omega was missing prior to Ying Yu’s takeover, likely a runaway, and the staff members had been among those on her payroll.

Yifan sat on the couch and ran a hand through his hair, not caring if he mussed it.

It rankled him getting the omegas back had been so easy, was hardly any loss at all. The cash he paid the Zhangs drained the account Ying Yu had been using behind his back, making the issue of laundering it into usable capital moot. And the wharf location he signed over to the Zhangs had been losing the Wu family money in taxes for the last three years. It only had significance for smuggling, and most the Wu smuggling was not by small sea craft.

He should have known making it about an omega – his omega – would grease the wheels and get him a deal. It was generally agreed alphas were at their most vicious when fighting for a mate. And there was an unspoken understanding among the Triad families that in omega matters, if concessions could be made without overly damaging a family’s assets and keeping face, it was advisable to do so to avoid conflict and long-lasting grudges. In Fei’s place, Yifan would have done the same as she had. But he didn’t like having used Zitao as a prop, even unintentionally.

Yifan flexed his right hand and scowled.

He also didn’t like the way Lui Wei acted during the meeting. Or that, thanks to Ying Yu’s machinations, it was exceedingly likely Lui Wei had had sex with Zitao. It was an open secret he enjoyed inspecting the Zhang brothels and he was known to have a taste for omegas who couldn’t refuse him. Yifan hoped Fei kept her little brother on a very, very short leash around him from now on.

The office door opened without a knock. Yifan glanced up to see Zitao step inside, a little subdued, but not nearly as depressed as Yifan feared he would be after seeing the rescued omegas. Zitao blinked at his desk before turning to see him sitting on the couch.

“Sorry,” he said as he shut the door behind him. “Should I have knocked?”

“No. Show Lo would have warned you if I was in a meeting,” Yifan said, waving for Zitao to come over. “You may come and go as you please. How was it?”

Zitao chewed the corner of his lip as he walked over, still keeping his arm close to his side. Doctor Wong said he didn’t have to wear the sling any longer, as of a few days ago, but he was still supposed to avoid any vigorous activity. “Thanks for getting them back,” he said as he straddled Yifan’s lap, leaning forward and resting his head on Yifan’s shoulder. “Jia said to tell you thanks, too. She was feeling sick, so Cao Lu and Qian took her back to the hotel.” He paused. “It was… bad for them. Really bad.”

Yifan winced, having an inkling what the Zhangs were capable of. “I know.” He ran a hand under the leather jacket Zitao had claimed as his. It looked good on him, and Yifan enjoyed the intimacy of Zitao in his clothes. “I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

Zitao shook his head. “No. I’m just glad I’m with you.”

They sat like that for a long while, only interrupted once when Show Lo knocked and stuck his head inside. The secretary took one look and retreated without a word. Yifan stroked up and down along his mate’s spine and tried not to be aroused by Zitao’s knees braced on either side of his hips or the warm, heavy weight of the fit body over him. He had limited success. Especially with that undertone of salty sweat in the air and Zitao's steady breathing against his neck.

“Qian said there will be a lot of people at the ceremony you mentioned,” Zitao said, breaking the quiet.

“It’s traditional for there to be representatives of all the Triad families when someone like me takes a mate, and good PR to invite politicians, businessmen, and a few well-connected socialites,” Yifan said as he let his hands drift to cup Zitao’s ass, gripping to slide him up higher on Yifan’s thighs. “You are free to have Jia or anyone else you’d like attend.”

“What exactly happens?” Zitao said, kissing Yifan’s jaw as he pulled the knot of Yifan’s tie loose.

Yifan stroked his thumb along the waistband of Zitao’s jeans. “The bonding ceremony itself is fairly short and straightforward. We exchange vows in front of the matriarch…” Zitao suddenly went rigid, his hand freezing in the process of removing Yifan’s tie completely. It took a moment for Yifan to guess at his distress. He let out a soft chuckle when he did, using the excuse to hold Zitao closer. “No, peach, you do not have to see her again. Qian is matriarch of the Wu family now.”

“Oh,” Zitao said in an exhale, yanking the tie from Yifan’s neck and tossing it on the couch arm. “Okay.”

“Then your name is documented beside mine in the Wu family records, and you are my mate,” Yifan said in a growl as he nipped Zitao’s shoulder. “After is a party where everyone will be well-behaved and congratulate my excellent choice before we go spend out first night in the ancestral mating chamber to seal our bond.”

“It wouldn’t be our first night,” Zitao said, sounding a bit shy as he lapped at Yifan’s neck. “Or morning.”

“Or afternoon,” Yifan agreed with a smile. “It’s an old ceremony. Besides, it will be our first night as an officially mated pair.” Zitao gave a sharp inhale as his scent grew more fragrant. “And I’d be a fool to pass up an opportunity for an uninterrupted time with you. Tradition gives us three whole days alone.”

Zitao had half the buttons on his dress shirt undone and was sliding his hand inside, stroking over Yifan’s chest. “You timed it for when my heat’s supposed to come,” he said, breathing hot against Yifan’s neck as he found a nipple, circling it with a fingertip before slowly tracing that same circle with his nail and bit of pressure.

Yifan hissed at his omega’s boldness as he grabbed Zitao’s hips and pulled their bodies flush. Zitao let out a surprised yip, lifting his head from Yifan’s shoulder and pulling his hand free of Yifan’s shirt to grab onto the back of the couch for stability. He stared down at Yifan with wide eyes that reflected the sunset outside, the color in his cheeks heightened as his growing erection pressed against Yifan’s.

“Not your heat,” Yifan said as he lifted a hand to the back of Zitao’s neck and drew him into a kiss, lazy and sensual, and promising further pleasures. “I leave the choice of whether to have your heat to you, but I am aiming for when you’re fertile.” He let his mouth pull into a feral grin as he nipped at Zitao’s lower lip. “I intend to have you pregnant before we leave that chamber, as a mating gift.” He stroked Zitao’s nape. “Though, if you desire anything in addition, let me know.”

Zitao was shivering and shifting as he whispered, “That’s what I want.” He licked his lips. “And I want to have my heat, I think. At least once, so I can know what it’s like…” He was flush as he plucked at Yifan’s open collar. Yifan ran his thumb along the side of his neck to encourage him to go on. “It’s silly.”

The tremble running through Zitao’s entire body managed to worry and arouse Yifan. He wrapped his arms around Zitao’s waist and kissed his chin. “I doubt that. Please, tell me.”

Zitao let out a sigh as he closed his eyes and rested his forehead lightly against Yifan’s. “I want to know how it feels not to be scared going into my heat,” he said in low voice, as if he were trying to keep the secret from himself. “To not be scared they won’t find an alpha. To not be scared I’ll have to suffer. To know an alpha I want – my alpha – is going to be there to take care of me.” The corners of his eyes were damp. “See, it’s silly.”

Yifan’s heart ached. “Zitao, you never have to be afraid of your heat or how it’ll be managed again. You can skip it or I’ll sate it. I promise you’ll never have to endure those fears again.”

The omega blinked his eyes open, a bit watery, as he smiled wide and honest. “Thank you.”

There was a knock on the door, which Yifan ignored in favor of kissing Zitao again. His omega responded hungrily. Though Zitao winced with his whole body when he moved his right arm too quickly to press his hand to Yifan’s cheek, and that dampened Yifan’s ardor significantly.

“Your shoulder is still bothering you,” Yifan said rather than asked.

“No,” Zitao replied, frowning. “It feels fine, so I forget to be careful. It didn’t hurt that much just now.”

Yifan leaned back against the couch and raised an eyebrow to convey exactly how he felt about that response. Zitao attempted a meek, apologetic look, which didn’t suit him in the least, but his trying was rather adorable. “Much as I’d like to go on,” and Yifan did very, very much want to go on. “I’d prefer to be careful with your shoulder if it’s still giving you twinges like that.”

“I can be cautious,” Zitao said, shifting in Yifan’s lap in a way guaranteed to make an alpha wild.

“Zitao,” Yifan said as the knock came again, more insistent this time. “No.”

“But…”

The cherry blossom scent of Zito’s arousing was intoxicating. “Zitao, you can feel how much I want you,” Yifan said as he gently pushed the omega back. “But I also want you at full health and uninhibited on our bonding night.”

Zitao pursed his lips as he kept his right arm at his side. For a moment, Yifan thought he would let it go. Then the omega grabbed one of his hands and put it on his ass, pressing it so Yifan felt how the black jeans were slightly damp in the dip between his cheeks. He purred, “But I’m wet and I want you now.”

That nearly undid Yifan’s resolve, until the intercom on his desk buzzed. Show Lo’s voice was like a cold shower. “Sorry to interrupt, boss. But the Huang representatives have arrived for the meeting. The one you have had me reschedule three times already.”

“You have to go to that, don’t you?” Zitao said, pouting.

Yifan nodded as he caressed Zitao’s side before nudging the omega off his lap. “I’m sorry,” he said as he got up and went over to his desk, letting Show Lo know he would head to the conference room in a few minutes. “I’ll never make you wait when you’re in heat, but there may be times when you’re horny that I’ll have to defer until later.”

“You’re starting to make my heat appealing,” Zitao said, curling up on the corner of the couch. The way he had his arm tucked against his side, Yifan felt he was not overreacting to Zitao’s earlier wince.

“Once your shoulder is fully healed, frequency will not be an issue.”

Zitao shyly glanced away, a ghost of a smile at the corner of his lips. “It’s nice you want me healthy.”

Yifan buttoned his shirt and ran a hand over his hair before walking over to retrieve his tie. He placed a kiss on top of Zitao’s forehead as he did. “If you are still in the mood by the time I return, I’ll figure out something we can do without jostling your arm, peach.”

\--

Thanks to everyone reading this story. ^_^


	26. Chapter 26

Zitao’s heat was close at hand, but it was hard to assess how close with the way his heart kept racing and his insides were twisted with nerves. Today he would be mated in an official bonding ceremony to Yifan Wu. He was pretty sure he was in a dream.

Except in dreams he didn’t have to worry about an early heat ruining everything.

The warning signs he usually ignored started yesterday. His temperature was up two degrees and he had a prickling sensation along his skin. There was a mild headache at the nape of his neck, and his body was aroused at the most random moments before calming again. He was supposed to have two full days yet before his heat began, and it had always been eerily consistent. Before, however, he hadn’t constantly been in close proximity to an alpha he wanted desperately to mate with. The rain in Yifan’s scent was heavier as of late, like a late summer storm drenching the city.

His touches lingered, and his kisses…

Doctor Wong had been the only one brave enough to suggest what everyone had to be thinking. Namely Zitao and Yifan should be separated the night before the ceremony to ensure Zitao didn’t go into heat early. Though the doctor only made the suggestion after putting Show Lo and the twins between him and Yifan.

It was hard to say if Zitao or Yifan loathed the concept more.

If Qian hadn’t been there, both of them would have probably rejected the idea. “It’s one night and never again. Yifan,” she had said, pinning her cousin with a serious glance. “Myself, Cao Lu, and Show Lo have performed a minor miracle in getting the ceremony and a guest list together on short notice, especially after we overhauled the inner workings of our family and nearly went to war with the Zhangs less than a month ago.” She had sighed at Yifan’s expression. “You have a knot for a brain right now and might not care about the ramifications of suddenly canceling, but it will be a clusterfuck. And even if you don’t care about alienating the other Triad families and our business partners, it is the Wu alphas loyal to you who need to see you mated most right now. They need to see your resolve. They need to see you putting the esteeming of your omega, of Zitao, above your base urge to rut on him. You have to show them you are better than Ying Yu so they understand these changes aren’t a whim.”

Show Lo had quietly clapped from where he and Doctor Wong were still safely behind the twins.

In the space where Yifan was silent, Qian had looked over at Zitao and smiled. “Zitao, I know you are part of our family now, with or without the ceremony, and I know you want to get pregnant. I also know you haven’t been getting any action because Yifan’s been too cautious of your injuries.” Yifan growled and Zitao had blushed, because that was starting to frustrate him. “But it’s better done once you’re his official mate. And, honestly, if you’re going into heat during the ceremony, no one can question if your kids are Yifan’s or not.”

“No one would dare,” Yifan had snapped as Zitao clutched a hand over his stomach.

“Not to your face,” Qian had said, looking back at him. “But you know they might, and why.”

There had been awkward silence in the penthouse as Yifan and his cousin glared at each other. Show Lo and the twins took on a mild, blank expression Zitao noticed they adopted when they did not want their own opinions known. Only himself and Doctor Wong seemed confused about the meaning of Qian’s statement, and Zitao realized he didn’t want hear the reasoning.

Qian had bowed out of the glaring contest first, clearing her throat and using one last line of reasoning on Yifan. “And since you’re thinking with your knot, consider you will have three days where none of the other Triad groups will do anything that would make us have to disturb the head of the family while he is with his new mate. You don’t get that guarantee without the formality of the ceremony.”

Yifan had relented, and Zitao grudgingly consented as well, to abide twenty hours of separations. His alpha had taken him aside and kissed him in that way that made Zitao’s body feel loose and wanting, and promised after the ceremony he would sate Zitao completely. Zitao replied he didn’t think he could ever get enough to sate his desire completely, at which point Qian came in and said Cao Lu and Jia were going shopping and so was he.

“Are you all right?”

Zitao jumped and turned to see Jia looking worriedly at him as he stood by the window. In the courtyard below, last minute preparations were going on, Wu alphas and a handful of betas running about, yelling at one another about this or that needing to be there or somewhere else. Show Lo was in the middle of it all giving directions, waving a clipboard with authority.

He had come to the Wu Compound after shopping last night, with Jia to stay with him. The Wu ancestral home was like something out of a period drama, an entire little city of classically built structures behind its gates. Alphas wearing the Wu family tattoos were everywhere, as were a lot of omegas with nervous and curious expression, and children of every gender running all over to explore.

Cao Lu told him it was in a bit of disarray. After becoming matriarch, Qian had lifted several of Ying Yu’s longstanding restrictions, including omegas and all of the children under ten having to stay out of sight in a garden estate hidden at the back of the compound. For many of the omegas, it was their first time out of the garden estate in years without direct alpha supervision. Zhoumi’s mate, Henry, had gone a step further and moved into his alpha’s apartment outside the compound, with both their kids, within an hour of the pronouncement.

“I’m all right,” Zitao said to Jia’s question, turning away from the window.

She came over and ran a hand over his sleeve. He was acutely aware of the pressure involved in the act of touching, but it didn’t cause him pain, yet. “You’re flush,” she said, looking up at him. “And your eyes are a little dilated.”

“I’ll be able to make it,” Zitao replied.

“Of course you will,” Jia said as she reached up to fuss at the high mandarin collar of his brocade robe. “Still can’t believe you were thinking of wearing _black_ formal wear to your own bonding ceremony.”

Zitao smiled at her. The shopping trip had been an excuse to get him out of the penthouse faster, until Jia and Cao Lu discovered he hadn’t found something special to wear for the ceremony. Yifan said there hadn’t been a prescribed dress code in decades, and Zitao thought his suit looked good on him. This was not acceptable to his friends, and he was force marched on a grueling five hour tour of Hong Kong’s chic boutiques.

He had given up hope of the shopping trip ever ending when he found a red silk changshan with hand-embroidered golden fish swimming back and forth. It was the right color for an auspicious bonding, and fish were a symbol of fertility, since they produced so many eggs. One of the designers had come out to get it fitted in a rush after Cao Lu explained what the outfit was for.

“It won’t be much longer now,” Jia said, smoothing a hand over his chest. “Still okay?”

“I’m starting to salivate a little,” he admitted, swallowing hard. “But it doesn’t hurt much, yet.”

There was a knock on the door and they both glanced as Cao Lu peeked inside. “I came to tell you you can come down whenever you like, it’ll start soon,” she said as came in and walked over, reaching up to fuss at his hair. “You look perfect.”

“Thanks,” Zitao said, licking his lips. “Is Yifan here?”

Cao Lu smirked. “I saw him talking to Qian about ten minutes ago, asking when things were going to get started. Everyone is looking forward to your being reunited. He’s been a moody terror since yesterday. I hear Show Lo threatened to quit if he didn’t, and this is how Dalong told it, chill the fuck out.”

“Yifan wouldn’t do that,” Zitao said as Cao Lu shrugged and urged him toward the door.

Jia linked arms with him for support as she came along. Her feet had healed, but were sore after walking around so long yesterday. One of the twins was stationed outside the door. Zitao felt guilty he still couldn’t quite tell one from the other. He thought one was a little quieter, but maybe they switched.

The four of them descended to the noisy first floor. Though, as soon as they arrived there was a hush as everyone looked over at him. Zitao kept his chin raised as a whisper started from one alpha to the other asking if he was _the omega_ , while whichever twin was with him scowled warningly at anyone sniffing the air with too much interest.

Zitao couldn’t see _his_ alpha, but the scent of sandalwood and rain filled his nostrils and made his body react. Yifan was close. The prickle on his skin was becoming a stinging sensation, and he was incredibly glad his clothing mostly concealed his erection and the sudden gush of wetness trickling down his thighs. Jia’s hold on his arm was suddenly supporting him as they went outside into the courtyard.

“How long is the ceremony?” Zitao asked Cao Lu, glancing at the decorations without really seeing them.

“Incredibly short. The party after is usually what drags on.”

Zitao couldn’t help a whimper at the idea of anything dragging on.

He was led to a small pavilion at the fore of the courtyard, where everyone seemed to be gathering. He saw Show Lo quickly directing Wu alphas and Fei standing nearby with a bunch of other important looking people, a Zhang alpha holding and umbrella over her head. A slight rain had begun. There were other alphas, some he had seen on TV or in the paper before, but he couldn’t gawk at them right now. His head was starting to pound.

The pavilion was made of wood with a green hexagon shaped roof held up by red supports. Inside sat a small table covered in red and gold silk with a tea pot and one cup on it, and a space for something left in the middle. There were three pillows for kneeling, two in front of the table and one behind. Cao Lu got him to the right pillow to kneel on, which was excruciating, and told Jia she could sit on the stairs for now before running off to, hopefully, hurry everything along.

Zitao inhaled and listened to the soft patter of rain on the roof, forcing his mind to focus on only that for a moment. It helped a little. The rub of his clothing did not.

“She’s pretty,” Jia said, attempting to distract him as she nodded Fei’s direction.

“She’s a Zhang,” Zitao replied.

Jia crinkled her nose but stood her ground on the comment. “Well, she’s still very pretty.”

Umbrellas were passed out to the well-dressed guests and the courtyard filled. All the windows of the surrounding buildings were open with faces peering out. The rain began to fall heavier. According to the favored superstition of the Omega House, rain on the day an omega was taken as a mate meant a long and fertile union. Zitao smoothed a hand over his churning stomach and hoped it was so.

Show Lo and one of the twins came by with an umbrella for Jia and helped her to a nearby spot reserved for her and Cao Lu. Behind him, all the whispers Zitao had been ignoring went silent. He inhaled the spiced smell of sandalwood and rain and glanced over his shoulder to see Yifan.

How his alpha could smell more like rain than rain, Zitao didn’t know. But it was fortunate his legs were starting to feel weak or he would have leapt up and run to Yifan, buried his face against his alpha’s neck. The alpha was wearing a light gray suit with a dragon embroidered in silver over the left breast, his hair meticulously combed away from his face. Zitao’s thighs ached for how handsome he was.

People bowed to him with varying degrees of deference as he walked up to the pavilion, his gaze intense on Zitao. “Are you all right?” he asked as he knelt on the adjacent pillow.

“Yes,” Zitao answered. His nipples and cock were painfully hard, and all he wanted was Yifan’s knot. “But… my heat is coming on fast.”

“I know,” Yifan said with a slight smile. “I caught your scent as soon as I arrived at the compound.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hm, and you look as delicious as you smell.”

“Thank you,” Zitao said, pulling at a sleeve. His clothes were starting to feel heavy. “I want to take it off.”

“Peach, once Qian gets her ass out here and gets this done with, I’m taking it off for you."

\---

Sorry posting has gotten intermittent. I'm currently moving and my laptop keeps going randomly missing, lol. Not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I will get it done soon as things are settled again. Thanks to everyone reading. ^_^


	27. Chapter 27

For most of Yifan’s life his aunt had been Wu matriarch.

The bonding ceremony under her tenure had been an austere affair she presided over in a suit, a stern expression on her face. For the more prestigious unions, like Yifan’s own alpha-father’s three scandalous bondings, an equally austere reception had followed. So it was a bit of a surpise when he arrived at the Wu Compound for his own bonding. Qian was obviously trying to reverse course and put an aspect of festive back in festivities. If Yifan had not been so intent on getting it over with so he could be alone with his mate, he would have been more appreciative of his cousin’s good works.

Ying Yu would have hated this much _celebration_.

The main courtyard, where the harmony pavilion sat in the center, was decorated in red and gold. Cloth had been draped liberally between the building to protect the guests from the rain, and umbrellas had been supplied for the places nearest the pavilion where coverage was lacking. The guest list was far more noteworthy than should have been possible on such short notice; Qian hadn’t been joking about her and Show Lo performing minor miracles. Before the start of the ceremony Yifan had accepted congratulations from high-up representatives of all the Triad families, including Fei, numerous business associates, foreign investors, influential capitalists, a few celebrities of note, and a handful of politicians and high ranking law enforcement individuals that should not have been seen fraternizing with him - but were eager for an easy opportunity to curry favor with the Wu family.

Most Yifan’s blood relations were present as well. The only exceptions were Ying Yu and a second cousin still in critical care after a motorcycle accident the prior week. There were also over a hundred loyal Wu alphas present, which soothed some of Yifan’s concerns about his non-blood family rebelling against him. The most pleasant surprise, however, was seeing Wu omegas and children watching from the windows. Ying Yu would not have allowed either anywhere near any formal event.

Later, he was going to give all the pomp and circumstance the consideration it deserved. For now, all he could think of was Zitao.

The scent of his omega taunted him from the moment he arrived at the compound. Wafts of cherry blossoms filling his nostrils when he passed anywhere Zitao had been. He could taste Zitao's salty skin on the tip of his tongue, feel the smooth flesh and hard muscle beneath his fingertips. He was on the verge of a rut. Every nerve screamed for him to go to his mate and claim him. Instead he forced himself to acknowledge his guests, glad Show Lo appeared to be his shadow and listen in, because Yifan wasn't going to recall a single fucking thing he talked about with any of them.

Once the ceremony started and he saw Zitao, he felt better and worse.

Much as Yifan thought casual, practical clothes and leather jackets suited Zitao best, his mate was absolutely stunning in the changshan. The red made the color of his gold skin lustrous and brought out the flush across his cheeks and nose, made his hair and eyes obsidian black. He looked otherworldly. Like a temptation sent down by ancient gods as a test, a test Yifan would not pass. That Yifan managed to walk up to the pavilion and sit beside Zitao instead of pouncing and ravishing him in front of an audience was a testament to his self-control.

Rain fell rhythmically on the roof, a drip in stark counter-tempo, as they waited for Qian.

Behind them was a continuous stream of commentary among the guests about _everything_ , from Zitao’s appearance - both complimentary and not - and Yifan’s eccentric inclinations, standing out in inclement weather, and other things in no way related to the preceding. None of which was nearly so interesting as a sigh Zitao let out, which went straight to Yifan's groin.

Yifan dug his nails into the palms of his hand as he glanced at his omega's profile. A fine sheen of sweat glistened on Zitao's skin, a bead trickling down from his temple. His eyes had fallen shut, eyelashes dark on his cheek. His mouth was open as he panted, tongue sliding between parted lips to moisten them as he attempted to control his body with slow breathing exercises. It wasn't meant to be enticing, but Qian needed to hurry it up before Yifan found his limit.

"Does it hurt?" Yifan asked in a low voice, wanting to reach out and take Zitao's hand.

"Not much," Zitao answered, eyes dilated as the fluttered open and he inhaled a quivering breath.

"Zitao..."

"I can make it," was Zitao's firm, stubborn reply as Qian finally stepped out from one of the nearby buildings.

Yifan grit down on his molars and exhaled through his nose to quell the intense desire to grab Zitao and leave. He focused his irritation on glaring at his cousin as she approached the pavilion, a Wu alpha hurrying along at her side holding an umbrella over her head. She raised an eyebrow at his glowering, then smiled to frustrate him more.

Qian wore a golden cheongsam with a rising phoenix stretching from her hip up to her shoulder. Much better suited to a propitious occasion than Ying Yu's damn dour suits. She entered the opposite side of the pavilion and knelt on a pillow across the table from them, setting a book on it. Rain began to fall in earnest as she met his eyes and silently told him to calm down, it would be done with in minutes.

The murmurs of the guests went silent as Qian deftly opened to the appropriate page with Yifan's name, as it had been recorded on his birth. Other rites of passage had been noted. His first win against his alpha-father. The day he formally became head of the Wu family. And a smattering of dates along the side of the page, placement the only clue to their meaning. Qian smoothed over his life with her hand.

There were no formal words to be exchanged in a Wu bonding ceremony. The silence was meant to allow participants a moment to ponder the full gravity of the mating bond. Only the matriarch was allowed to say a few words, and Ying Yu had often abused that clause to give a lecture.

Qian laid a pen in front of Yifan and an ink pad in front of Zitao, gesturing for Yifan to begin. He took the pen and carefully wrote the characters of Zitao's name beside his own. Seeing _Zitao_ written in place of his formal mate was even more satisfying than expected. He glanced over at the omega to see if he shared the feeling, but Zitao was focused the ink pad and his part. Zitao pressed his thumb into the ink and put a thumbprint beside his name to seal his acceptance.

Yifan felt an absurd desire to lick the ink from Zitao's thumb.

Qian coughed to pull his attention back as she poured tea into a single cup, handing it to him the traditional way, with a quarter turn to the right. It was over-steeped and cold from sitting in the pavilion overly long, but Yifan hardly tasted the tea as he drank half and passed the cup to his mate with another quarter turn. Zitao's hands were surprisingly steady as he took the cup, careful not to touch Yifan on accident. He finished the tea and set the cup down in front of him for Qian to see it was empty.

That was the Wu family's bonding ceremony: a horde of witnesses, paperwork, and an indirect kiss shared with bad tea.

Congratulatory cries went up from the guests, followed by a shuffle to migrate inside for the reception. The wind had picked up and the rain was starting to come down at an angle. "It would be nice if you could come in and say a few words before running off," Qian said as she stuck a blotting paper between the pages of the book before she closed it.

Yifan didn't have a chance to tell her _no._ Zitao let out a shuddering gasp as his heat broke.

The sweet, succulent smell filled the courtyard, overpowering the scent of rain. It was like an entire forest of cherry blossom trees burst into bloom all at once. Every alpha jerked to attention, even Qian's eyes went wide as she put a hand over her nose and mouth and drew back.

Zitao moaned and the hair on Yifan's neck stood at attention. The omega twisted and grabbed his arm, fingers holding tight. " _Yifan_ ," he said in a long, low whine. His hot breath puffed against Yifan's ear, his lips trembling. That tone, Yifan was instantly aware, was one one he would never be able to deny. "Now it hurts."

Yifan hadn't realized it was possible for his body to ache even more keenly for his omega. "Let's go," he said in a low growl as he shot to his feet and pulled Zitao up with him. Zitao let out a hiss of discomfort at the touch as Yifan led him out of the pavilion and away from excited gossip. Today would definitely end any lingering rumors about his preferences. Zitao staggered along at his pace, clutching Yifan's arm for support and to keep from being outpaced.

"Should I carry you?" Yifan asked as they walked between buildings toward the garden path.

Zitao shook his head and sucked in a few breaths before raising his head. His eyes were dilated, pools of black, and his face was flush and gleaming with rain. His lips were enticingly parted as he licked between them and swallowed twice before speaking. "My clothes... My clothes would rub where you were holding. They feel heavy enough already w-with the rain." He kept a grip on Yifan's arm that was going to leave a bruise. "How far?"

"See the garden ahead of us," Yifan said, keeping them moving down the path. "The mating suite is just behind the trees."

"I can make that," Zitao said in a firm voice, nodding to himself even as he groaned and shivered.

He would have made it, of course. Zitao was the strongest willed person Yifan had ever met. It was Yifan who gave in to temptation, into the intoxicating scent of his mate and the low, arousing plaintive sounds. He scooped Zitao into his arms and ran the rest of the way the moment the suite was in view. A few moments in his arms had to be better than slogging through the rain. Zitao latched onto him, hiding his face against Yifan's shoulder and biting it to keep calm.

The mating suite had a nice reception area, which Yifan bypassed without a second look or removing his shoes. He carried Zitao straight to the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind him as he set his mate down. Zitao was unsteady on his feet as he held the front of of Yifan's jacket for support. He was trembling as rain water dripped from his hair onto his cheeks, sliding down to his chin.

"You're fucking gorgeous," Yifan said as he pulled the omega against his chest, kissing him.

His mate - _his official mate_ \- let out a whine and struggled in the embrace for half a second. Then he was kissing back as if he meant to devour Yifan, his mouth wet and hot as he threaded twitching fingers into Yifan's rain soaked hair. Yifan shrugged out of his sodden suit and flung it aside as he groped for the fastenings on Zitao's outfit, deftly finding them and working to free Zitao of the burden as he promised he would. He could feel Zitao's needy erection pressed against his own, and when his hand slid down to squeeze his omega's ass, he found it drenched with more than rain.

"I need your knot," Zitao whispered in a shaky voice before biting Yifan's lower lip. "Hurts."

Yifan growled and yanked at their remaining clothing, ripping when necessary, until they were writhing naked on the bed. Zitao let out agonized gasps, a furrow between his brow as he shivered beneath Yifan. He dug his short nails into Yifan's back and shoulders whenever Yifan drew the slightest bit away. "Not going anywhere," Yifan swore as he lapped at that tantalizing spot on Zitao's neck, gently teasing it with his teeth. He was never letting the mark fade, anyone who saw it was going to know Zitao was _his_.

Zitao stretched his neck as his hips jerked and he ground against Yifan. He'd already come twice. "Knot me," he begged. He was putting on a good show to not let Yifan see how much he was hurting. But Yifan felt the tension in his mate's body, felt the shivers and spasms, and noted how they were getting worse.

Once the pain was gone, they would be at their leisure to truly enjoy one another.

"How do you want me, peach?" he asked as he bit hard on his mate's shoulder.

Zitao let out a cry and nearly bucked Yifan off as he came again. He moaned as he dropped back to the sheets and Yifan gently stroked his hair. Yifan touching him didn't seem as painful as it might have been, maybe even soothing.

"I want... your knot," Zitao whispered, licking his lip and swallowing hard against the flow of saliva. "Inside me."

Yifan couldn't help the wolfish grin as he kissed Zitao. "I'm sure you feel how much I want that too," he said as he rolled onto his back, pulling Zitao over on top of him. He slid his fingers down the line of Zitao's spine and into the wet heat between his cheeks. Zitao gasped as he rubbed fingertips over the weeping hole, feeling the muscle spasm as it tried to draw him inside. "I want to thrust myself in deep, right here. Inside my gorgeous _mate_."

The blushing expression Zitao flashed him was the most beautiful thing in the universe. "Then do it."

"You haven't told me how you want it?" Yifan said. Zitao looked at him flushed and confused, that furrow of pain creasing his brow. "Position, peach."

There was a moment of clarity in Zitao's eyes as he understood what Yifan was asking. "I just need you, _Yifan_ ," he said, dragging out the name in a way that would have made Yifan hard if he weren't achingly so already. "I liked that time... when you were facing me."

That matched Yifan's preference perfectly. He liked watching Zitao's expressive features.

In one swift motion he flipped them again, attempting to be gentle as he laid Zitao on his back. The omega let out a hiss of discomfort as the sheets scraped against his heated skin. "Just a moment more and we'll both feel better," Yifan said as he reached for Zitao's legs and lifted them. His omega's shaking hands moved to help, shivering fingers wrapped around the backs of his knees as he pulled them toward his shoulders so he was on display for Yifan.

Zitao was a sight to behold and Yifan's cock twitched that this was only for him from now on. The golden skin drenched from the rain and sweat, stomach smeared with come. The muscles in Zitao's limbs on display as he held himself in the awkward position. Zitao's cock stood at a slight angle, beads of come leaking from the tip. And his hole glistened with need, a wet spot slowly spreading beneath him on the sheets.

" _Mine_ ," Yifan growled as he inserted two fingers to be sure Zitao's body was ready for him. His mate gasped and let out a low, " _Yes_."

Yifan put his hands on Zitao's thighs and pushed the omega back more firmly on his shoulders as he positioned himself. He didn't wait as he thrust into the welcoming heat of Zitao's body, feeling Zitao's muscles clench and draw him in. He sank in to his throbbing knot as he watched Zitao's face, watched that furrow between his brows ease as saliva dribbled from the corner of his mouth. The tension seeped out of Zitao's body with a contented sigh even as he moaned, " _More_."

"As you wish," Yifan replied as he pulled out enough to thrust back in, earning a lusty cry.

Zitao lost hold of his knees as Yifan urged the long legs around him, liking the feel of the strong muscles holding him as he started to move. For a moment Zitao lay under him, letting out delicious sounds as his scent intensified, salty sweat giving a tartness to the sweet cherry blossoms. Then Zitao's arms looped around Yifan's neck, pulling him down into a wet kiss full of teeth and tongue. Zitao's thighs squeezed as he dug his heels into the small of Yifan's back to encourage him to go faster, to thrust deeper.

" _Yifan_ ," Zitao whined as he lapped at the corner of Yifan's mouth. "Make me pregnant."

Yifan chuckled as he kissed Zitao's cheek, sliding his mouth to the omega's neck. He felt his climax nearing quicker than he wanted as he lapped at his mark and pressed his weight down onto Zitao. His rhythm was lost and his thrusts became more wild. Zitao's body, both the clutch of his legs and the wet heat of his hole, became more inviting. Later it would be about seduction and slow, sensual torment. Now was about relief for them both.

He felt his teeth sinking into Zitao's skin as hips snapped forward with a hard thrust, burying his knot inside his mate. Zitao let out a cry, pleasure from his own climax and satisfaction. His body clenched around Yifan to keep him close, one hand in Yifan's hair so his mouth stayed on Zitao's neck. Yifan tasted a tang of blood on his tongue as he came with a growl low in his throat, spilling into Zitao as his knot began to expand.

"Zitao," Yifan moaned when he unclenched his jaw, lapping at his mate's neck apologetically.

"Yifan," Zitao responded, his limbs showing surprising strength as they held on to Yifan. The omega didn't seem to mind his weight. "Alpha. M... mate."

Yifan chuckled as he lifted his head enough to look at Zitao's flush face. "Yes, mate."

\---

Sorry for the long wait. I'm still working on acclimating to the move and suddenly having roommates again. Thanks to everyone still reading! ^_^


	28. Chapter 28

Just because the pain was gone didn't mean Zitao's heat was spent.

He woke feeling hot and needy with the scent of sandalwood and rain all around him as he stretched his body out against the damp sheets, wiping crusted drool from his cheek. His cock was achingly hard as he rolled onto his stomach and lazily thrust against the mattress, friction heightening his arousal instead of causing jolting pain. The only real discomfort he felt was the place between neck and shoulder where Yifan bit him, and he _liked_ the slight throbbing of his alpha's possessive mark.

"How do you feel?" came Yifan's voice, followed by a gentle touch of fingertip stroking from the dip of his back to his nape.

Zitao shivered and bit his lip to hold in a moan as he turned his head to see Yifan reclined next to him on the bed. His alpha - his _mate_ , a concept that still didn't seem real - was gloriously naked and partially erect. Zitao's buttocks clenched at the body memory of Yifan's cock buried deep within, Yifan's hot seed spilling into him as his alpha's knot sealed it inside.

"Feel like I want more of you," he answered, swallowing hard and then coughing to clear the roughness from his voice.

Yifan chuckled as his fingers combed through Zitao's hair. "But the hurt is gone, correct?"

Zitao gave a nod as he gathered his strength to sit up, inhaling Yifan and the intoxicating scent of their previous exertion. His heated cheeks warmed further as he felt how loose he was, inner thighs coated with self-lubrication. A damp spot slowly spread from where he sat. "I'm making a mess," he said. It wasn't any more sweat, come, and lubrication than was normal for him, but being on the fancy sheets in the setting of Yifan's ancestral mating suite made him notice.

"I helped," Yifan said with a smirk, perhaps a bit of pride, as he sat up as well. He reached out an took hold of Zitao's chin, pulling him for a kiss. "You smell good right now."

"So do you," Zitao replied, purring his alpha's name, " _Yifan_."

"Goes straight to my knot when you say it like that," Yifan growled as his hand slipped to the back of Zitao's neck.

"Does it, _Yifan_?"

Yifan grinned and Zitao found himself on his back with the alpha over him. "Yes, yes it does, my sweet peach."

Zitao felt playful. He didn't think he'd ever felt playful in a heat before as he reached up and touched his neck, letting out shuddering sound as he stroked down the front of his throat. "What else goes straight to your knot, _Yifan_?"

"Keep touching yourself and I'll let you know," Yifan said, braced over him, his smile turning lecherous in a way that made Zitao's body tense and his cock twitch.

Zitao stroked over his collarbone, shivering as he felt the intensity of Yifan's gaze following his every movement. He continued down to a nipple, circling the hard flesh as he rolled his hips without thinking. His body needed his alpha's hands all over him again, needed Yifan's lips against his skin, needed his mate's knot. He let his eyes drift partly shut as he brushed over the nub. His nipples had always been tender during his heat, but the alphas who his caseworker found were only interested in getting their cocks wet in his hole. None of them ever tried to please him.

His eyes flew open with a gasp as Yifan's finger drew a circle around his other nipple. There was a wicked smile on the alpha's lips as it hardened further at the attention. Yifan pinched the taut bud between thumb and forefinger, twisting ever so slightly. A warm, white sensation of pleasure shot through Zitao as he cried out, coming in the space between their bodies.

"I'll remember you're sensitive here," Yifan said, pinching harder and making Zitao whimper before he let go. "Probably more so once you're pregnant."

Yifan's words cleared the pleasure haze, exposing a deep yearning. Zitao inhaled a shuddering breath as his hands slid to his stomach, smearing come as he pressed them flat against the plain of muscles. "I want to be pregnant," he whispered. He imagined the oddity of his stomach expanding, of having Yifan's child growing inside. His body gushed for want of making it a reality.

The expression on Yifan's face was soft. "If not already, you will be soon," he promised, kissing Zitao's forehead.

Zitao sighed, feeling content in the moment, which made Yifan's pushing away and getting off the bed all the more jarring.

Simply asking where Yifan was going choked in Zitao's throat as panic rose inside him, almost more powerful than his heat. He didn't want Yifan to leave. His body reacted almost on its own, all the fatigue in his limbs forgotten. He shot to his feet and kicked one of Yifan's legs out from under him, snaking an arm around the alpha's waist and flinging him back on the bed while he was off balance.

The shock on Yifan's face might have been comical at another time, but the panic was so heavy in Zitao's chest he could hardly breathe. He straddled Yifan's hips and held his shoulders down to the mattress. "Don't go," he said, desperation thick in his voice. "Please."

One of Yifan's hands moved to stroke comfortingly along Zitao's waist. "I'm wasn't going," he said, his brow furrowing. "Doctor Wong warned me to make sure you don't get dehydrated. I was getting some water for us."

"Oh," Zitao said, forcing his fingers to release the tight grip on Yifan's shoulders. "Oh, okay."

"What's wrong?"

Zitao shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said as he bent forward, resting his forehead on Yifan's collarbone and letting out a deep breath. "I shouldn't have thrown you."

Yifan let out a snort as his hand moved to Zitao's back, gently stroking. "I'm impressed how fast you moved in your current state," he said as he scratched his nails lightly down his omega's spine. His voice was gentle, but with a note of command as he repeated, "Now, what's wrong?"

Even if he hadn't intended on answering, he would have for that tone. "I just started to panic when I thought you were suddenly going," Zitao said, shivering at the sensual drag of Yifan's nails against his skin. "I'm always alone after it stops hurting, before another alpha comes in."

There was a split second where Zitao could feel the anger from Yifan. The alpha's hand pausing on Zitao's back, a tension in his body, and the scent of rain growing more intense and virile. "Zitao," he said in such a way that Zitao knew he needed to listen very carefully. "You are my mate now. No other alpha comes in before or after me." No argument would be allowed opposing that statement, not that Zitao desired to make one. "Only I am allowed to have you for the rest of our lives." He pressed lips to the crown of Zitao's head and added, "Only you are allowed to have me as well."

"I only ever wanted you," Zitao said, his eyes stinging as his temperature rose and self-lubricant dripped from between his buttocks.

Yifan's lips pulled in a gentle smile. "I'm sorry it took me so long to notice your perfection, peach," he said as he touched his mark on Zitao's neck. Zitao stretched for him and let out a sound between a whimper and a purr. "But now you're mine. My omega, my mate." He chuckled as he coaxed Zitao to lift his head. "And from now on I'll be sure to ask permission before getting out of bed when you're in heat. For my own safety."

"You weren't in danger. I threw you on the bed, not the floor," Zitao said, licking his lips.

"You're the ultimate danger," Yifan replied. "I have no defense against you."

Zitao blushed and felt his hole quiver wantonly with the need to be filled. "Knot me again," he whined, biting at Yifan's chin.

"You need some water," Yifan said as his hands slid over Zitao's waist.

"I'll drink whatever you want after you knot me."

Yifan smirked. "You shouldn't promise things like that," he said as his hands moved to Zitao's hip, taking hold and shifting Zitao to sit further back on his knees. "Can you feel me?"

Zitao moaned and wiggled as he felt Yifan's fully erect cock pressing against his slick inner thigh. "I want it inside me," he said, feeling a spasm in his legs. "Should I..."

The smirk on Yifan's face became predatory and playful, his grip on Zitao's hips solid to prevent him from climbing off. "This is perfect, peach. You just need to sit back and let me fill you." He licked the points of his teeth. "I want to watch you struggle to take what you desire."

Zitao felt a flush down his back as he growled, "I'm not the only one who wants this, Yifan."

His alpha chuckled once more as he used the hold on Zitao's hips to guide him to a better position. Zitao shifted on his knees, pressing his hands flat to Yifan's chest for support, and enjoying the feel of solid alpha muscle beneath his palms. He gasped as he felt the tip of Yifan's cock brush against his wet entrance. "Ah, are you sure it's okay like this," he asked, a bit of drool escaping the corner of his mouth as he shivered and forced himself to be still. He'd gotten accustomed -- and enjoyed -- how Yifan liked to have sex in a variety of different positions, but it still felt strange to be in his heat and not flat on his stomach.

"More than okay," Yifan replied in a growl, his hands flexing hard on Zitao's hips. He wanted to be inside as much as Zitao wanted him there. "Unless you don't like it."

Zitao circled Yifan's nipple with a finger. "I like it. No one else gets to look down at you like this."

"Only my mate," Yifan agreed.

Zitao trembled as lowered his hips and felt the head of Yifan's cock press inside his slick hole, his body squeezing around it to welcome the invasion. His legs felt weak with sudden relief to have his alpha inside him once more, a bit of the nagging desire to be filled at the back of his skull quieted. He groaned as he sat back and took the thick alpha cock at a tormentingly slow pace, his fingers gently clawing at Yifan's chest.

"That's it," Yifan said encouragingly, voice rich with pleasure.

Sweat dripped from Zitao's brow. He swallowed hard to keep from drooling on his alpha as he pressed down, impaling himself on Yifan. He let out a gasp of gratification and delighted in the feel of his mate inside him once he was fully seated. He could feel the heat of Yifan's knot pressed flush against his entrance.

"You're gorgeous like this," Yifan said as one of his hands slid to Zitao's stomach.

"Yes, I am," Zitao agreed, lifting his chin.

"Just think how arrogant you'll be after I've had years to spoil you."

Zitao liked the sound of years as he forced himself to move. He raised himself almost off Yifan and then thrust back down, earning a pleasured hiss from his mate. It took a bit of work to get into a rhythm of movement where he could ignore the trembling fatigue of his heat and enjoy the sex. He succeeded because it was Yifan, and sex with Yifan wasn't a chore.

Yifan growled encouragement as the scent of rain grew heavier, scent of sandalwood spicier. One of the alpha's hands slipped to Zitao's aching erection, stroking him to completion twice and making Zitao dizzy. Zitao's fingers flexed on his mate's chest, short nails leaving red tracks of their passing.

He heard the low growl emanating from Yifan's throat as a warning. Then the alpha's hands were on his hips again, yanking him down as Yifan thrust up. Zitao threw his head back with a cry of ecstasy as he felt Yifan's knot enter him, as he felt Yifan climax and spill into him. "More," he whined as he pressed down, feeling the knot begin to swell and lock them together. Feeling that delicious pain where it felt as if his alpha's knot would be too much. Yifan's hold on his hips was going to leave bruises.

Their panting filled the air along with the most wonderful aroma.

The needs of his heat momentarily slaked by his alpha's knot and seed, Zitao felt dizzy in the most satisfying way. He felt drool on his chin as he leaned forward and gave Yifan a sloppy kiss. "Love you," he said as his mate's arms wrapped possessively around his middle.

"Love you too, peach," Yifan replied against his lips, and Zitao smiled contentedly.

\--

Getting ready to wrap up. I'm going to miss writing this story! Thanks to everyone reading! And sorry to comments I haven't had a chance to reply to. They are appreciated!!


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